The Council of the Federation meets in St. Andrew N.B. in the coming week, and there’s an ever-growing agenda of items for consideration by Canada’s provincial and territorial leaders.
Alberta premier Rachel Notley wants to talk about the imminent demise of passenger bus and freight service in western Canada when Greyhound Lines shuts down its service there at the end of October.
Manitoba premier Brian Pallister wants to talk about interprovincial trade, specifically in alcohol, wine and beer. He’s written to his colleagues to say he thinks there are too many barriers and that these barriers need to come down.
It will be the first formal appearance on the national stage by the new Ontario premier, Doug Ford. He’s already moving to roll back a number of initiatives brought in by the previous government headed by Kathleen Wynn. These decisions may very well impact the national agenda.
And the meetings in New Brunswick will come just as the prime minister re-shapes his federal cabinet in preparation for the next federal election in the fall of 2019. The cabinet shuffle is expected to be announced on Wednesday.
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There is to be the traditional meeting with First Nations leaders, which has taken on additional significance in this era of truth and reconciliation. There will doubtlessly be some discussion of C-45, the so-called “pot bill” which takes effect on October 17 and which hands off much of the cost and implementation of this federal legislation to the provinces and municipalities. And there is bound to be a discussion about tariffs and trade, which is an integral part of every provincial economy in the country.
Then there are things like a proposed national pharmacare program, as well as a range of federal-provincial programs that are already in place but that need monitoring and, perhaps, an update.
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Hanging over all of this is a cautious move back to the right by parts of the Canadian electorate. The election of the Ford Conservatives in Ontario ended 15 years of Liberal rule in Canada’s most populous province. Quebecers go to the polls in October. Albertans go to the polls next spring. There’s a federal election in the fall of 2019. The politics at work here is whether Canadians believe stabilized taxes and balanced budgets are the way to go, or whether the nanny state should continue.
The big picture is going to be interesting to watch over the next 15 months.
https://omny.fm/shows/alberta-morning-news/provincial-affairs-1
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