Too bad that the letter from Pierre Poilievre published yesterday on X is addressed to Paul St-Pierre-Plamondon.
Because the federalists of Quebec (at the CAQ and the PLQ) will believe that this does not concern them. Now, it is a vision of the Dominion that unfolds there; and that they should make it their duty to dissect, to criticize.
For 70 years, federalism has been “in a relationship” with a number of epithets: “profitable” (Bourassa, 1970), “predatory” (Gérard D. Lévesque, 1986; Nicolas Marceau, 2014). From 2005, Stephen Harper promoted “open” federalism. Poilievre is currently outlining a so-called “reasonable” federalism.
That of Justin Trudeau, certainly, was rather unreasonable. Completely ignoring the constitutional rules of “shared powers” (“who does what” in the federation).
Tramway
Poilievre insists: if he takes power, he will “respect the autonomy of Quebec.” A contradiction is immediately obvious: in the same letter, he reiterates his promise to block a project, that of the tramway, even though it was promoted and supported by the Legault government! He has in fact signed an agreement with the city and CDPQ infra (a project supported by the Quebec Chamber of Commerce and Industry).
When it came to helping Calgary and Edmonton acquire streetcars and light trains, Mr. Poilievre was there so that “our young people and our seniors no longer need a car,” he said, perky, in a video.
The Harper era
Moreover, in his letter, Poilievre idealizes the blue past: “Under Stephen Harper, Quebec was respected.” It is necessary to qualify.
Yes, there were authentic federalist gestures: recognition that Quebecers form a nation; Quebec folding seat at UNESCO. There were sums to compensate for the fiscal imbalance. And Harper released two TPS points.
But Poilievre forgets deep quarrels linked to conservative ideology and the Canadian federal system.
The non-respect of provincial jurisdiction over securities, since 2007. The denial of Quebec’s shared jurisdiction over firearms. In 2012, Jean-Marc Fournier, Jean Charest’s minister, even went to Ottawa to complain about it. Dominique Vien, also Minister of Charest at the time, approved this denunciation of federal encroachments. What has she said since joining the Conservative caucus in Ottawa?
Above all, we should remember Harper’s abandonment of a key aspect of “open” federalism. The promise to explicitly regulate the “spending power” of the federal government, a fiction making Ottawa believe that it can spend in all areas without exception.
If Harper had managed it as promised, Justin Trudeau’s Liberals might have had more difficulty, during their 10 years in power, invading provincial areas of jurisdiction such as health and education.
And instead of taking care of our teeth and daycares, Trudeau’s Liberals would perhaps have been forced to concentrate on the major “regular” powers of the federal government: borders, posts, ports, air transport, army, etc. , lamentably neglected since 2015, we realize today.
