National Network for Equitable Library Service

The Rowell-Sirois Commission and the Remaking of Canadian Federalisminvestigates the groundbreaking inquiry launched to reconstruct the federal system - revealing its impact on the high politics of federal-provincial relations and its legacy for Canadian federalism today. In 1937, the Canadian confederation was broken. As the Depression ground on, the economic crisis highlighted a fundamental dilemma: the provinces faced increasing obligations but limited funds, while the dominion had fewer responsibilities but lucrative revenue sources. A public inquiry was struck to review the system. But the process was soon beset by conflicts between Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia and hampered by problems within the commission itself. The breakthrough was a plan for a bold new form of federalism based on the national collection of major tax revenues and unconditional transfers of these revenues to provinces based on fiscal need.Robert Wardhaugh and Barry Ferguson dig through the evidence and counter misconceptions to demonstrate that even though the report was at first rejected, it provided a storehouse of innovative ideas that redefined the nature of federal government and shaped policy - and thinking - about federalism for decades.