The Intergovernmental Dimensions of the Social Union A Sectoral Analysis

to appear in Canadian Public Administration

Harvey Lazar

Published: February 2006

Keywords: federal, federalism, social, union, government, governance, Fiscal Federalism

Abstract:

Federal systems combine the self-rule of autonomous territorial units with shared-rule among the people of those same units. The idea of social union is linked to the shared rule side of that equation, that is, the idea that there is and should be substantial social sharing among Canadians and that there are social rights and obligations that attach to Canadian citizenship regardless of province or territory of residence. This is an idea that carries considerable support among Canadians who, for the most part, are unconcerned about which order of government delivers social programs. They simply want governments to cooperate to make sure the job gets done... The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to shine some light on how that intergovernmental dimension functions in practice. It relies heavily on a series of case studies designed for that very purpose.

Disciplines: Governance

Publication: Revised-CPA-paper-Nov-051.pdf