New Brunswick took a stand recently against the national securities regulatory agency, and so three other provinces. Combined with Quebec and Alberta, that makes a total of six provinces that have rejected this project of national agency. Is this a sign that finally provinces begin to get the idea about the nature of the federal government in Canada? If you look at history, the document that was signed in 1867 by the Province of Canada (Quebec and Ontario), Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, was a confederation document, not a federation one. Because of the two World Wars and others circumstances, the federal government progressively took control of powers and responsibilities that were legally under the jurisdiction of the provinces until then. To this day, these powers and responsiblities have not been given back to the provinces.

Apparently, New Brunswick is beginning to be tired of this centralist federalism that has never ended up advantaging them. The union of these six provinces is definitely the sign that after a century and a half, people have finally awaken and realized that they have been had. Canada as it is today, is not the country that their forefathers wished for and it is not the one neither that was written down in the Confederation agreement. The decisive aspect of this issue is definitely the convergence of voices of other — finally! — provinces in the arena of criticism aimed at the federal government. For decades Quebec has been alone doing that, well, at least we feel it was, but now that has changed. After repeated separatist/sovereignist speeches and discussions, other Canadians in position of power begin to realize that we could get much more out of the Canadian « Federation », if only the funding document of this country was respected.

In an earlier post, I have written that the union of interests and strategy of the provinces of Quebec and Alberta could be the beginning of a new Canada. Well, ideally, the best would be for all provinces to jump in the bandwagon of affirmation and territorial sovereignty. A confederation is a union of sovereign states, binded together by a central institution that acts only as a musical director or choreographer. The musicians or dancers are not the slaves, employees or butlers of the director or choreographer. They are rather artists who deliver art and performance under the guidance and leadership of such figures. It is a huge difference. So I take with great pleasure these expressions of sovereignty by the provinces. I guess they are the ultimate signs that finally, the country, which used to be only a colony in which everybody could pillage the resources and exploit the inhabitants, has taken the path toward political maturity. If this present trend keeps growing and gives fruition, instead of being a mere banana republic in the western hemisphere, Canada will be able to be recognized as a real and mature nation.

Neil Reynolds – Globe and Mail