Tuesday, December 27, 2005

Federal governance and the Constitution

Governance Problems in Socialist Canada

by John Feldsted, Winnipeg Canada

Paul Martin and his Liberals have an abysmal lack of understanding of our history and constitution. Whether their ignorance is honest or intentional is not material. They do not adhere to constitutional law and thus form an outlaw government.

When the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick met to create the nation of Canada, they sought an alliance for mutual protection from invasion and annexation by the United States of America.

Their aim was to create a national government that would provide certain services, such as an army and navy, that were not practical for each province to create, but were needed for the protection of the northern British colonies.

The result of negotiations between the Canadian colonies and Great Britain was the British North America Act, forerunner to our constitution. The BNA Act set out the framework for governance of the new nation of Canada, including a careful distinction between the role and responsibilities of the federal government and those of the provinces.

Our constitution sets out the duties and responsibilities of the federal and provincial governments under sections 91 through 95.

For decades, federal governments have undermined the constitution, interfering in clearly defined provincial jurisdictions such as education and health care. Provinces have added to the problems by demanding funding from the federal government, and Ottawa has been only too pleased to respond while attaching strings to funding to exercise federal controls over provincial jurisdictions.

Ottawa has spent decades taxing us for more funds than required to provide the services the federal government is responsible for under the constitution. While it would be prudent to create a reserve fund for unexpected emergencies and disasters, our federal governments have used the surplus as a slush fund to promote services we do not want or need in an effort to buy our votes while leaving us with a crushing debt in place of a reserve fund to avoid fluctuations in federal taxes.

Covert provincial taxation at the federal level and the blurring of responsibilities results in a lack of accountability to taxpayers and voters. Politicians wrap themselves in the flag and ideology while pointing fingers at one another while doing nothing constructive to meet the needs of our society.

We have to understand that no matter which political party heads our next government, our governance must adhere to the constitution. Federal health care and education funding has to be turned over to the provinces in the form of federal tax reductions and proportionate increases in provincial taxation. The provinces, not the federal government are responsible for education and non-military health care.

If we want government accountability we have to start by insisting that our governments take up their respective responsibilities under the constitution and adhere to the framework set our therein. We can never accept the excuse that the federal government is involved for the greater good of society. It is abundantly clear that federal forays into provincial jurisdictions have resulted in unmanageable and unaccountable governance chaos.

Our Fathers of Confederation set out the way in which our nation was to be governed. Their guideline was that the government closest to the people should exercise governance of local affairs. Federal governments have ignored the principle and concentrated increasing powers in the federal government and within government concentrated powers in the Prime Minister’s Office. We have a right to be represented by the Members of Parliament we elect, not by a Prime Minister we do not elect and few of us can even vote for.

The most recent insult to our constitution is federal initiatives to provide financial support for cities, towns and municipalities. Constitutionally, the provinces have exclusive legislative jurisdiction over municipal institutions. What the federal government proposes is constitutionally illegal.

The worst offenders of the constitution are Paul Martin and the Liberals followed closely by Jack Layton and the NDP with their respective illusions of grandeur. Socialists are not friends and supporters of constitutional law and democracy. Their ideology is opposite to that of a free society governed only to the extent that its citizens will allow themselves to be governed.

Regrettably, Stephen Harper and the Conservatives are not far behind and can only be saved by following through on Harper’s promise to strengthen the provinces and work to allow them the autonomy provided for in our constitution.

Reversal of decades of unconstitutional governance cannot happen overnight, but we must ensure that our constitution and the liberty and rights enshrined therein are not undermined by political lust for power. We will, though our elected representatives, tell Ottawa the limits of its governance.

We must not allow the federal government to announce to us its latest intrusive initiatives or agree to finance the burgeoning bureaucracies that allow Ottawa to increasingly control our lives. The servants have taken over the castle and it is time to exercise our right to restore order to our governance.