Reality Check: Stephen Harper’s contempt for the provinces

Stephen Harper’s modus operandi when it comes to provincial and territorial relations is well established – refuse to consult, make unilateral decisions, and then use a divide and conquer approach to impose your views on everyone else.

Instead of open dialogue with the provinces, time and again Stephen Harper skips meetings, ignores provincial calls, and without consultation unilaterally alters federal-provincial programs.

• Inquiry into missing and murdered aboriginal women – Provincial leaders all agree enough is enough when it comes to the crisis situation across Canada for missing and murdered aboriginal women, but the federal government flat out dismisses the issue.
• Federal-Provincial Health Accord – In 2014 the federal provincial health accord is set to expire and instead of taking time to meet with premiers, hear their concerns and build consensus on the future of health care funding in Canada, the federal government’s mum on the issue. Without the accord, health care funding will be left up to the federal government and will be distributed according to provincial economic growth, a system that provincial leaders are not in favour of.
• Canada Health Transfer – Stephen Harper’s Conservatives think that investing in health care means shortchanging provinces $36 billion.
• Employment Insurance Reform – Instead of working with the provinces to build an employment support program that addresses the multitude of employment issues across Canada, they have forced in drastic cuts without consultation.
• Temporary Foreign Workers – Much like EI reforms, the Conservatives’ TFW reforms were proposed without any consultation.
• Canada Job Grant – Stephen Harper’s Conservative government clawed back $300 million previously transferred to the provinces for job training without even giving a heads up to the premiers.
• Old Age Security – Much like the previously mentioned disastrous relationships on EI, TFW and the Canada Jobs Grant, the federal government unilaterally decided to make sweeping changes to OAS in Canada.
• Search and Rescue – without any warning or consultation the federal government closed both the Kitsilano and Quebec search and rescue stations despite strong opposition from governments and communities.
• Infrastructure – Despite agreement amongst provincial leaders that funding is needed to invest in key infrastructure projects and solve the $171 billion infrastructure deficit, the federal government is nowhere to be seen.
• Police Officer Recruitment Fund – Phasing out the program, leaving the provinces to shoulder the burden.

Each of these failures offloads more and more onto provincial governments without the appropriate financial support and further alienates provincial and territorial leaders.

Canadians deserve better. Canadians deserve a federal government that will come to the table, listen to provincial leaders’ concerns and work together to improve the lives of all Canadians.