Harper’s hands-off approach backfires
Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s continued refusal to engage in any kind of discussion with Canada’s premiers is leaving provinces on their own in attempting to come up with a common approach to some fundamental public policy issues.
The events that transpired at last week’s Council of the Federation meeting of premiers, which was supposed to be their most important gathering in years, attests to the problem of absent federal leadership. Equalization, Alberta Premier Allison Redford’s quest for a pan-Canadian energy strategy and the federal health funding deal that was dropped on the provinces without a breath of discussion were high on the premiers’ agenda.
As premiers made their way to Halifax, British Columbia’s Christy Clark tossed the first volley regarding Enbridge’s proposed $5.5 billion Northern Gateway pipeline to move bitumen from northern Alberta to Kitimat, B.C., for tanker shipment to Asia.
In the face of huge public opposition in B.C. to the pipeline and her own lagging political support, Clark set out five environmental and fiscal conditions for the project, including her province receiving a fair share of the economic benefits such as resource royalties or other revenue.
News reports suggest this pipeline will generate about $81 billion over a 30-year period. The federal government will garner $36 billion, Alberta takes $32 billion, Saskatchewan gets about $4 billion and B.C. will receive $6.7 billion.
Clark had given Harper and Premiers Redford and Brad Wall a heads up about her position. She wants the federal and Alberta governments to sit down and discuss a fair share of revenue for B.C.
Clark says no discussions and no negotiations mean no pipeline. Redford immediately rejected the idea and responded that Albertans send billions in revenues to the federal government to the benefit of all Canadians. As Redford and other premiers tried to change the channel, Clark’s position dominated the message emanating from the premiers conference.
Clark’s intervention is a good example of what occurs when a prime minister refuses to meet with the premiers to discuss major Canadian issues. With respect to the Gateway project, Harper has amended the federal legislation to fast-track the environmental hearings process. He argues that the economy demands it.
In doing so he has failed to take into account that many Canadians, especially British Columbians, wish to be assured that the pipeline will be safe and environmentally acceptable. A majority of B.C. residents oppose the Gateway project and Clark knows it.
But consider her response. She basically says that if B.C. gets adequately compensated, then she doesn’t really care about possible environmental consequences from the pipeline. This short-sighted view reflects the notion that Clark’s position is more about the upcoming B.C. election than it is any concern for the environment or getting a fair share for the province.
A common- sense approach would have had our PM meet with the 13 premiers to hammer out a Canadian energy strategy. And while Harper was at it, he also could have discussed the preservation and reform of medicare and equalization. Instead the premiers were left to grapple with these issues without federal input.
The “my way or the highway” attitude exhibited by Harper on these files, especially health care, underlines the weakness of his government’s approach to federalism — attempting to govern Canada by strict adherence to the division of federal and provincial powers. This hasn’t worked in the past. It promotes unilateralism, as witnessed by Clark’s actions, and it ignores the reality of governing a modern day nation that’s dealing with complex and important issues.
B.C.’s move should spur Harper to begin the dialogue of strengthening the unity of this nation through co-operative federalism — an old fashioned but still relevant idea.
The premiers, in the most diplomatic of terms, have invited the prime minister to their next meeting in November. Their message is clear: There are important public issues that will take both the federal and provincial governments to resolve.
The last meeting that Harper attended with Canada’s first ministers was more than three years ago, after the global financial meltdown in fall 2008. The premiers know there are some ominous economic signs worldwide again and they will have seen their firstquarter revenue numbers.
It’s time for Harper to learn how to co-operate with our premiers. Canadians expect it of their prime minister.