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‘Complicated’ election system can leave voters baffled

YorkRegion.com
Oct. 1, 2015
Lisa Queen

Who does what?

Canada’s complicated system of governance, where responsibility for programs and services is divvied up and, yet, often shared between federal, provincial and, in York Region’s case, two levels of municipal governments, is often never more apparent than during election campaigns.

“If I had a dollar for every time I heard somebody ask a politician about something that is not in their sphere of responsibility, I’d be rich,” York University political science professor Robert MacDermid said.

“It’s so often you hear at all-candidates’ meetings, someone will ask about something and (a candidate) will say, ‘Well, actually, that’s got nothing to do with me. That’s municipal or that’s federal or whatever’.”

Voters also ask candidates out canvassing about issues outside the office for which they are running and parties can have difficulty recruiting volunteers to go door-knocking because they are nervous about being asked questions about issues that fall into a governance structure they don’t understand, he added. 

Canadians can be forgiven their confusion, MacDermid said.

“It’s complicated. It’s a very complicated system of governments. The responsibilities are either divided or shared in many instances. Those at the municipal and provincial (levels) are shared responsibilities and then also at the provincial and federal governments,” he said.

“For instance, around health care, the federal government provides funding and also stipulates some criteria that the provinces have to meet, but the provinces deliver health care itself and fund most of it themselves.”

Meanwhile, regional governments also provide public health programs.

While Ottawa and the provinces bicker over funding transfer payments, those discussions mean little to the average Canadian, MacDermid said.

“A battle can go on and, in the end, citizens just want to know, ‘I need a knee operation and it’s going to take a year and who’s responsible?’” he said.

While national defence and foreign affairs are federal responsibilities, all kinds of other programs, such as immigration, taxation, environmental issues and policing, overlap jurisdictional boundaries, MacDermid said.

Politicians and their staffs at all levels of government are usually good about being able to direct people to the appropriate office for their concern, he said.

Confusion about who does what is often even more difficult for newcomers to Canada, MacDermid said.

Some immigrants come from countries where democracy is a foreign concept, he said.

“It’s dictatorship and it depends on the whim of the dictator who gets what, so it’s often more complicated for them,” he said.

Although, newcomers often can answer many questions that Canadian-born citizens cannot about the divisions of responsibility because they have to go through the citizenship and immigration test, he added.

Tazim Bhanji, program manager with Social Services Network, a York Region agency delivering a number of services, including assistance to newcomers, agreed many immigrants find Canada’s governance system confusing.

“They don’t understand what the responsibility of the various governments is. What is the municipal government responsible for? What is the provincial government responsible for? Now, with the election coming, what is the federal government (responsible for)?” she said.

“They understand there is a federal election. As far as that goes, I think it is clear in their minds there is a federal election. However, to them, it is all one (system), so why are we having another election again?”

Following the municipal election last November and the provincial election in June 2014 and now voters heading to the polls for the Oct. 19 federal election, the number of elections in such rapid succession often baffles newcomers, Bhanji said.

“They are confused with so many elections, No. 1 because they are Canadian citizens, so that means one government,” she said.

“So, why are you having so many elections and, if that is the case, who is responsible for what? They don’t understand that and it’s very new to them.”

While newcomers do take a citizenship test, it’s theoretical and taken at a time when they are juggling so many things, adjusting to their new country. It not until they need services do they realize the system’s complexities, Bhanji said.

Immigrants are usually eager to understand the way Canada works, including its governance, she said.

“They want to know; they are hungry for information. They want to know what is going on and they want to participate. Absolutely, they want to participate and make a difference, but they need to know what they are participating in,” she said.

While governments should do a better job of explaining their roles, Canadians must also take responsibility for learning the system, MacDermid said.

“It’s complicated. People don’t pay enough attention to governance and they often don’t know what level of government delivers what service. I suppose if we queried people, the passing rate would be abysmally low on a number of services,” he said. “I honestly think citizens have to pay more attention to some of these issues. And the lines of responsibility have to be clearer, too, so that people understand what level (of government) the service is coming from and who is ultimately accountable for it."

SIDEBAR

Who does what?

FEDERAL

In Canada, the federal level of government has authority over areas of law that generally affect the whole country, such as: the census, railways, patents, copyrights and the regulation of international and interprovincial trade. The exact nature, breadth and limitations of this power are listed in the Constitution Act, 1867. The federal government is also responsible for making things fair between the provinces through equalization payments and for ensuring that health, education and welfare standards are the same across Canada. The federal government cannot transfer any of its powers to the provinces, but it can delegate the administration of a responsibility to a provincial agency (this was done, for example, for the regulation of interprovincial and international highway traffic).

PROVINCIAL

Each of the 10 provinces has its own legislature and is responsible for areas of law that are listed in the Constitution Act, 1867 such as: the solemnization of marriage, fines for breaking provincial laws, and property and civil rights in the province. Some responsibilities, such as agriculture, immigration and some aspects of natural resources, are shared between the provincial and federal level of government. The provincial governments cannot transfer any of their powers to the federal government but they can delegate the administration of one of their responsibilities to a federal agency.

MUNICIPAL

Municipal governments are responsible for the administration of a specific city, town, village, metropolitan region or district. Their powers are delegated to them by the corresponding provincial government. There are approximately 4,000 municipal governments across Canada. Municipalities are responsible for such services as libraries, local police and street lighting. Increasingly, Aboriginal communities across Canada are also assuming responsibilities that are similar to those of municipal councils.