Appeared on the Nov. 30 issue of The Hill Times
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Government caucus
relieved |
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Government MPs breathed a sigh relief after last week's Quebec election results, saying it gives Prime Minister Jean Chrétien more room to manoeuvre, but many in the largest Ontario government caucus are still concerned about how much the federal government plans to hand over to the provinces in the upcoming social unions talks. "Definitely the prime minister looked very reassured. He felt again in charge," one government MP said. Last week, The Hill Times reported that the Quebec election will increase pressure on the prime minister to step aside once the next referendum approaches expected in the next 18 to 24 months. But many government MPs said last Monday's Quebec election results in which Quebec Premier Lucien Bouchard won 75 seats and Quebec Liberal Jean Charest won 48 seats for their parties, showed the electoral field hadn't changed much, giving the prime minister breathing space. "The real leader in terms of keeping the balance here is Chrétien," said government backbencher Dennis Mills (Broadview-Greenwood, Ont.). "He is the kind of lightning rod for the pluses and he is the lightning rod if there is something negative. I believe that there is an influential player when it comes to jousting with Bouchard." Moreover, Mr. Mills claimed, "there is no place for a separatist party in the House of Commons. This is the beginning of the end of separatism." But these sentiments were not widely shared by all government MPs and the Quebec issue was not the only one on the table. "We will see more and more debates on many issues now that we got rid, at least for now, of the Quebec election," said another government MP, who refused to be identified. The most turbulent meeting was in the 101-member Ontario Liberal Caucus last Wednesday where many MPs emerged unhappy and were not in the mood "to share the relief felt by the prime minister after the Monday scare." The government MPs from Ontario are concerned about how much the government plans to download onto the provincial government co-op housing sector and are equally concerned about how the government plans to restructure the Employment Insurance program. Government MPs vented particular criticism against two ministers Public Works Minister Alfonso Gagliano (Saint-Léonard-Saint-Michel, Que.) and Human Resources Minister Pierre Pettigrew (Papineau-Saint-Denis, Que.). In particular, Ontario MPs don't want Ottawa to transfer to the provincial government the administration of the co-op housing sector, "especially because Queen's Park has decided to download it to the municipalities," said another Ontario government backbencher. The decision was made in 1996 by the federal government to eliminate duplications. "The problem with Ontario," said Mr. Gagliano, "is that after we made that decision, the Ontario government decided to download those services onto the municipalities. I will negotiate with the provincial government until I see clearly what is going to happen." But now the Ontario MPs are supporting the request of the Federation of Co-op Housing which wants the administration of the sector transferred directly to them. "I know that the Co-op Federation is lobbing very strongly our members of Parliament to transfer the co-op housing to them. We have met twice, we are sharing correspondence and we are opened to all the possibilities," Mr. Gagliano told The Hill Times. However, he stressed that at the present time no decision has been made. "MPs however, want a decision to be made as soon as possible and not in favour of Queen's Park." In the meantime, Ontario MPs are also pressuring the government not to "open the store again" in the negotiations with the provinces and Quebec. The word that recurs among Ontario government MPs is "devolution." "Of course," said Mr. Mills. "I am not interested in the devolution. The government of Canada has to be re-built, devolution has to stop." Liberal MP Maria Minna (Beaches-East York, Ont.) shared the same views: "I really do not know what we can put on the table, I am not sure. Definitely I am not interested in increasing the devolution of the federal power to the provinces. What I am interested in is in creating more partnership with provinces to create agreements that would allow all Canadians to be able to move freely in the country." "I wouldn't talk about devolution, instead," said Mr. Gagliano. "I would talk of reorganization of the federation. We have to find out who can give better service to Canadians. It is not a matter of devolution but administration. We have been transferring administrative powers not jurisdiction." Asked if he thinks the social union will work, Mr. Gagliano said: "It is a challenge. Negotiations are on and if an agreement will be reached will not be in terms of devolution but to improve the way we serve all citizens, wherever they are." |
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