UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA
DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL STUDIES
TERM : WINTER 2013
COURSE #:
POLS 3860
SECTION: A01
COURSE TITLE: Canadian Federalism
CRN:
CREDIT 3
PROFESSOR/INSTRUCTOR: Donna J. Miller,
Q.C.
FORMAT: Lecture/Seminar
OFFICE LOCATION: 411 Isbister
LOCATION OF CLASS: 107 Isbister
TELEPHONE: 474-7392
TIME OF CLASS:
12:45
EMAIL ADDRESS:
[email protected]
OFFICE HOURS: TUESDAY MORNINGS,
10:30 to 11:15
Tues & Thurs 11:30 to
COURSE CONTENT AND DESCRIPTION:
Federalism in Canada continues to evolve. Since Confederation, different norms, attitudes and
challenges have affected the way Canada’s federal and provincial governments have
approached their citizens and each other. This course explores these ever-changing
relationships from a variety of perspectives. From a theoretical standpoint, why did Canada
adopt the federal model, and what impact has this had on its politics? From a historical
perspective, how has Canadian federalism evolved and how has it remained the same? From a
comparative view, how does the Canadian model differ from other forms of federalism? From
a strategic vantage point, how does Canadian federalism work ‘from the inside,’ in the form of
executive federalism? And from a normative perspective, has federalism served Canada well?
Topics to be addressed include Introduction to Federalism; Federalism and the Courts;
Executive Federalism; Federalism & Constitutional Change; Quebec & its Place in the
Federation; Federalism & the Democratic Deficit; Economic Regulation; Fiscal Federalism;
Federalism & Indigenous Self-Government; & the Future of Canadian Federalism. This course
will combine lectures, discussions and presentations.
ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADING
General Participation 20%
Research Paper (15 pp, double spaced) 40%
Research Paper presentation 10%
Discussant 10%
Student Journal Posts 20%
GRADING SCALE
A+ = 90-100
A = 80-89
B+ = 75-79
B = 70-74
C+ = 65-69
C = 60-64
D = 60-59
F
= 0-49
REQUIRED TEXT(S):
• Bakvis, Herman, Gerald Baier and Douglas Brown. Contested Federalism: Certainty
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and Ambiguity in the Canadian Federation, Don Mills: OUP, 2009
•
Peach, Ian (ed.) Constructing Tomorrow’s Federalism: New Perspectives on Canadian
Governance. Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 2007
RECOMMENDED TEXT
•
Patrick J. Monahan, Constitutional Law (3rd ed.), Irwin Law Inc., 2006
Students are required by the Department to retain a copy of each assignment submitted to their
instructors. Students should acquaint themselves with the University’s policy on plagiarism,
cheating, exam personation “Personation at examinations” (Section 5.2.9) and “Plagiarism and
Cheating” (Section 8.1) and duplicate submission by reading documentation provided at the
Arts Student Resources web site at http://www.umanitoba.ca/faculties/arts/student/index.html
Any term work that has not been claimed by students will be held for four months from the
end of the final examination period for the term in which the work was assigned. At the
conclusion of this time, all unclaimed term work will become property of the Faculty of Arts
and be destroyed according to FIPPA guidelines and using confidential measures of disposal.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
A. CLASS PARTICIPATION – 20%
Purpose of the Assessment: You are expected to read, reflect, participate and engage in class
discussions. You cannot simply read the occasional brief and show up intermittently to offer
opinions.
Process: You are expected:
•
to demonstrate your professionalism routinely by coming to class regularly, prepared,
and on time.
•
to do the readings/cases assigned for each class and be ready to discuss them.
•
to participate in class discussions of all assigned readings.
Students who do well in class:
ü will have done the relevant readings
ü will demonstrate their critical thinking ability, raise thought-provoking questions that
lead to constructive class discussion, and go beyond the "facts" of a reading and
establish connections between facts and theory (e.g.: How does a particular reading
relate to the concepts presented in the other readings?).
Your contributions ought to advance your own education as well as that of the class as a
whole. In preparation for each class, students should ask the following:
•
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What is the major subject and theme of the article?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
What is the major question addressed?
What techniques, tools of analysis, or methods are employed by the author to answer
the question?
What major points does the author make?
What does the author conclude? What suggestions are made?
What is the relevance of the article to the main topic being discussed in class?
What are the similarities and differences between the assigned readings?
What are the strengths and shortcomings of the assigned readings?
Marks will be assigned with the following guidelines in mind:
•
16 - 20: You have consistently contributed your ideas during seminar meetings; your
comments are consistently thoughtful and make beneficial contributions to the
seminar; you have demonstrated through your comments that you have done the
readings, and thought carefully about the questions for that week; you frequently make
connections with concepts, ideas and issues from previous weeks; and you have not
missed a class.
•
14 - 15: You have usually contributed your ideas during seminars and your comments
are usually thoughtful and make beneficial contributions to the seminar; you have
demonstrated through your comments that you done most of the readings, and thought
about the questions and assigned materials for that week; you make connections with
concepts, ideas and issues from previous weeks. You may have missed 1-2 classes.
•
11 - 13: You have contributed some ideas during most seminar meetings and your
comments are sometimes thoughtful and beneficial to the discussion; you have
demonstrated through your comments that you have done most of the assigned
readings, and thought about the topics for that week; you demonstrate some ability to
make connections with topics from previous weeks. You may have missed 3-4 classes.
•
10 and lower: You have missed more than four classes and/or there is little evidence
that you have done any of the readings. Even if you attend every class, you do not
contribute during class discussions or exercises.
At any time during the course, should a student wish to receive feedback about their class
participation, the student should make an appointment to meet with the professor.
B. RESEARCH PAPER – 40%
The aim of this paper is to apply the insights and knowledge that you gain during the course to
the topic of your own choosing that concerns an aspect of Canadian federalism. The paper
may in the format of a briefing note or a research essay according to the option preferred by
the student. For those adopting the briefing note format, the paper should be organized
according to the following headings: Subject, Background, Issues, Considerations and
Conclusions.
2012/13
The clarity and originality with which the issues are addressed, the coherence of the
arguments, the appropriate and accurate use of sources, and grammar and style will all be
considered in evaluating this assignment. Whether adopting a briefing note or research essay
style, all papers should develop findings or conclusions and, where appropriate,
recommendations.
All papers will be 15 double-spaced typed pages (approx. 3750 words) and will be due at the
beginning of class on April 5, 2012. Students submitting their papers late will be penalized on
the basis on the number of days late: 5 marks will be deducted each day.
C. RESEARCH PRESENTATIONS – 10%
Students will have the opportunity to test the ideas in their paper in class before finalizing
them starting in February and continuing through to March by presenting a summary of their
draft in class. To facilitate a discussion of their paper, students must provide a summary of
their proposed paper/briefing note on the ANGEL course site at least one week prior to the
presentation. The summary should be a maximum of 4 pages (1000 words), identify the
subject, the objective/thesis of the paper and the main research findings and/or
recommendations of their paper. Because the purpose of the presentation is to test the ideas in
the proposed paper, students should not finalize their thinking until after their class
presentation.
D. DISCUSSANT – 10%
Every research paper presentation will be assigned a discussant. This consists of an oral
comment (5-10 minutes). Discussants will place the ideas in a larger context and should
answer the following questions: why are these ideas important for the student of Canadian
federalism and what are the resulting implications? What are the key questions arising from
this paper? Your task is NOT to critique the paper but to discuss the ideas and provide
questions (ideally 3) to stimulate class discussion.
E. STUDENT JOURNAL POSTS – 20%
Purpose of the Assignment: The Journal Posts provide an opportunity to reflect on and
discuss items that are of interest to the individual students. These are designed to create a
forum for open discussion/debate of these issues without the risk inherent in evaluation.
Process: Students will be required to post a minimum of 10 journal entries over the 13 weeks
of the course. You are welcome to post more (they will be read by me, but will not gain extra
credit). You are required to post on the second session and the final one. The other 8 posts
(of the remaining classes) should be a response to the readings and/or class discussion for the
week. Your post should:
1) be identified with the week you are posting (class date and post#)
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2) be between 250 and 500 words
3) cover one or more of these three major views:
summarize - highlight the main arguments of the readings/class/group discussion
for the week
analyze/evaluate - tear apart, react to, find problems or contradictions with, give
strengths of, explain why you agree or disagree with - the readings/class/group
synthesize - place in relation to, bring together themes with, what one
author/speaker would say to another or one week’s readings/discussion with the
previous week’s
COURSE OUTLINE AND READINGS SCHEDULE
WEEK 1: Organizational Review syllabus & purchase texts and reading package from
& Introduction (January 8, U of M Bookstore
10)
Roy Romanow, “Preface” and Ian Peach, “Introduction”
Constructing Tomorrow’s Federalism, pp. IX-XI, 3-11
WEEK 2: Federalism:
Historical Overview and
Basic Principles (January
15, 17)
Bakvis et al, Contested Federalism, Chapters 1 & 2
WEEK 3: Federalism &
the Courts (January 22,
24)
Bakvis, Contested Federalism, Chapter 5
WEEK 4: Executive
Federalism (January 29,
31)
2012/13
Optional reading: Patrick Monahan, Constitutional Law, Ch.
2 “Canada’s Constitutional Development Before 1867”, pp.
31-52
Constitution Act, 1867, ss. 91 – 95 (U of M Bookstore
Readings Package)
Optional reading: Monahan, Constitutional Law, pp. 97-112;
pp. 126-144
Julie Simmons, “Democratizing Executive Federalism: The
Role of Non-Governmental Actors in Intergovernmental
Agreements,” Canadian Federalism: Performance,
Effectiveness, and Legitimacy, pp. 355-379 (U of M
Bookstore Readings Package)
Contested Federalism, Chapters 3, 6, & 7
Réjean Pelletier, “Political Trust in the Canadian Federation”
in Constructing Tomorrow’s Federalism, pp. 13-30
WEEK 5: Federalism &
Constitutional Change
(Jan 31, Feb 2)
Contested Federalism, Ch. 4
An Act Respecting Constitutional Amendments, S.C. 1996, c.
1 (regional veto legislation) (U of M Bookstore Readings
Package)
Constitution Act, 1982, Part V “Procedure for Amending
Constitution of Canada” (U of M Bookstore Readings
Package)
Optional reading: Monahan, Constitutional Law, pp. 176-206
WEEK 6: Quebec & its
Place in the Federation
(Feb 12, 14)
Bill 1: An Act Respecting the Future of Quebec (U of M
Bookstore Readings Package)
Reference re Secession of Quebec, [1998] 2 SCR 217 (U of
M Bookstore Readings Package)
Clarity Act, S.C. 2000, c. 26 (U of M Bookstore Readings
Package)
Irvin Studin, “Why the Quebec Question Still Matters” Globe
& Mail, Feb 7, 2012, updated September 6, 2012 (U of M
Bookstore Readings Package)
Optional reading: Monahan, pp. 207-228
Feb 19, 21
READING WEEK: NO CLASSES
WEEK 7: Federalism &
the Democratic Deficit
(Feb 26, 28)
Bill C-7 “Senate Reform Act” (uploaded on ANGEL)
Fair Representation Act, S.C. 2011, c. 26 (U of M Bookstore
Readings Package)
2012/13
David E. Smith The Senate of Canada and the Conundrum of
Reform, Queen’s University Institute of Intergovernmental
Relations, Special Working Series on Senate Reform, 200708 (U of M Bookstore Readings Package)
Ronald L. Watts, Federal Second Chambers Compared,
Queen’s University Institute of Intergovernmental Relations,
Special Working Paper Series on Senate Reform, 2007-08 (U
of M Bookstore Readings Package)
Optional Reading: Monahan, pp. 79-95
WEEK 8:Economic
Regulation (March 5, 7)
Reference re Securities Act, [2011] 3 SCR 837 (U of M
Bookstore Readings Package)
Optional reading: Monahan, Ch. 9
WEEK 9: Fiscal
Federalism (March 12, 14)
PRESENTATIONS BEGIN
Contested Federalism, Chapters 8, 9 & 11
RECOMMENDED READING:
David McGrane, “Limiting Fiscal Capacity? The
Relationship between Transfer Payments and Social
Spending in Canadian Provinces from 1988 to 2002” in
Constructing Tomorrow’s Federalism, pp. 51-88
PRESENTATIONS
WEEK 10 Federalism and
Indigenous SelfKiera L. Ladner “Treaty Federalism: An Indigenous Vision of
Government (March 19,
Canadian Federalisms” New Trends in Canadian Federalism
21)
(2d), ed. François Rocher & Miriam Smith, pp. 167-194 (U
of M Bookstore Readings Package)
Gabrielle A. Slowey “Federalism and First Nations: In Search
of Space” Constructing Tomorrow’s Federalism, pp. 157-170
Frances Abele and Michael J. Prince “Constructing Political
Spaces for Aboriginal Communities in Canada” Constructing
Tomorrow’s Federalism, pp. 171-200
Optional Reading: Monahan, Ch. 14
2012/13
PRESENTATIONS
Writing Week
WEEKS 11
Writing Week
(March 26, 28)
WEEK 12 (April 2, 4)
Future Challenges in
Canadian Federalism
Classes this week may be used to accommodate further class
presentations, if necessary.
Contested Federalism, “Conclusion”, pp. 246-260
Constructing Tomorrow’s Federalism, Thomas O. Hueglin
“The principle of Subsidiarity: Tradition—Practice-Relevance”, pp. 201-218
Constructing Tomorrow’s Federalism, Benoît Pelletier,
“Appendix: Federal Asymmetry: Let us Unleash its
Potential”, pp. 219-229
Optional Reading: Monahan, Ch. 15, “The Canadian
Constitution in the Twenty-First Century” pp. 479-488
RESEARCH PAPER DUE AT BEGINNING OF CLASS
ON APRIL 4, 2013
2012/13