Atlantic Union is a red herring

[goldcaper]

"In this context, the notion of Atlantic political union is a red herring. Administrative
rationalizations and mergers have a mixed record at best. The region is neither over-governed
nor over-legislated. The challenge is quite different: Atlantic Canada is under-managed in a
strategic sense, and under-organized around strategic objectives. Globalization, digital
technology, and the Internet are the prominent features opening up new opportunities for
Atlantic Canada but they require innovative, indeed, radical policy responses. The new
challenges are organizational and managerial–quality people, critical mass of skills, speed and
flexibility in decision-making, the capacity to build alliances and networks, the need to drop
yesterday’s assumptions and accepted orthodoxy. Which choice–status quo or bold solutions?
That is the central strategic issue for Atlantic Canada. That is the central theme for the need for
an Atlantic approach to administrative cooperation, policy integration, and most importantly,
consistency of purpose."

I just finished doing a paper on Atlantic Interprovincial Co-operation for a Poli Sci class. I came across this study, written by Dr. Charles McMillan, which describes the challenges and opportunities facing Atlantic Canada in the 21st century. The quote above is his opinion on Atlantic Union. The paper is called "Focusing on the Future: The New Atlantic Revolution". you can get it for free by googling it.

My paper was on the history and effectiveness of Atlantic interprovincial cooperation over the past 50 years. Not many Canadians, let alone Atlantic Canadians, know about the extensive history of Atlantic cooperation, culminating in the Council of Maritime Premiers and the Council of Atlantic Premiers. This body has created more than 70 regional initiatives, standardized legislation, improved regional labour and goods/services mobility, and created one of the first Canadian agreements on environmental policy.

What we should learn form this is that the Atlantic Provinces have shown that, where working on a regional level is a good thing, they will do it. The unanimity rule of CAP/CMP agreements doesn't restrict policy innovation; rather, it ensures that the limited resources we have are focused on the things that produce the greatest utility.

Sources I used:

Council of Atlantic Premiers, Working Together for Atlantic Canada: An Action plan for Regional Co-operation, Halifax: CAP, 2001

Council of Maritime Premiers. Challenge and Opportunity: A Discussion Paper on Maritime Economic Integration Halifax: CMP, 1991

Council of Maritime Premiers. From Opportunity to Results: An Update and Outlook on the Maritime Economic Initiative. Halifax: CMP, 1995

Doucet, Philippe and Roger Ouellette, Maritime (Atlantic) Union: History and Prospects, Ottawa: Canadian Institue for Research on Regional Development, 1996

Evans, Paul, Report on Atlantic/Maritime Interprovincial Cooperation between 1950 and 1971, Council of Maritime Premiers, 1985

Forbes, Ernest, The Maritime Rights Movemenet, 1919-1927: A Study in Canadian Regionalism, Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 1979

Hartling, Phil, Multi-Government Partnerships as Agents of Change: A Theoretical Framework and Two Canadian Examples, Halifax: CMP, 1990

McMillan, Charles. Standing Up To The Future: The Maritimes in the 1990s, Halifax: Council of Maritime Premiers, 1989

McMillan, Charles. Focusing on the Future: The New Atlantic Revolution, Halifax: CAP 2001

[jd1]

Four provincial governments for 2.6 million people? That is the size of a medium city. The Atlantic Provinces have a terrible record at working together, just look at the in-fighting over the Sable Island pipeline in 2002 and the NB pipeline that the NS Premier almost blocked in 2006. Do you mean best represented in Ottawa? Who cares? It is only relevant when we try to get something from Ottawa. We need to become strong enough so we are no longer dependent on Ottawa. Besides a large prosperous region should have real influence based on its own merit and its seat count would start to grow, we don't want influence based on a falsely inflated history. The Feds already consider Atlantic Canada a region when planning not four separate provinces, they would support us the whole way, it is only the petty parochial thinking here in AC that is holding us back. We pay a terrible economic price for that 'independence'.