The Canadian Social Union without Quebec: 8 Critical Analyses

IRPP and the Quebec Studies Program of McGill University (eds.) (also published in French)

2000 | 260 pages

On February 4, 1999, nine provincial governments, the territories and the federal government agreed to A Framework to Improve the Social Union for Canadians. The culmination of several years’ work, the Social Union Framework Agreement is undoubtedly one of the most important efforts by Canadian governments to facilitate intergovernmental collaboration in the field of social policy. Only Quebec declined to sign the agreement.

This book explains why Quebec chose to abstain. It contains a series of studies commissioned by the government of Quebec during the winter of 1999. Each paper provides a detailed analysis of the position of the provinces, from August 1998 to February 1999, and evaluates the Framework Agreement in relation to Quebec’s traditional position on social policy jurisdiction. These studies enable us not only to better understand Quebec’s point of view, but also to assess the value of the agreement itself.

Seven leading Quebec scholars have contributed to this book: Alain Noël; André Binette; Jacques Frémont; Ghislain Otis; Alain-G. Gagnon; André Tremblay; and Guy Tremblay. Also included is an article by Claude Ryan, former leader of the Quebec Liberal Party, as well as an introduction by Hugh Segal and Alain-G. Gagnon.