Opting out is a political expression that was formulated in
Canada to describe the intention of a
province to remove itself from a program administered by the
federal government
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...
, or to exempt itself from a constitutional amendment that would transfer its legislative powers to
Parliament.
Up until the 1960s, a province that did not participate in a shared-cost program would suffer a financial penalty for exercising this choice. The province of
Quebec exercised this choice on occasion despite the financial cost. In the 1960s, negotiations between the federal and the Quebec governments led to tax abatements or fiscal compensation formulas which compensated the Quebec government when it opted out of federal programs.
Under the
Constitution Act, 1982, the right for any province to opt out of future constitutional amendments that would transfer legislative powers from the provincial legislatures to Parliament is affirmed. Financial compensation is guaranteed for any province that opts out of such an amendment relating to education or other cultural matters. Under the
Meech Lake
Meech Lake (french: Lac Meech) is located within Gatineau Park in the Municipality of Chelsea, Quebec, Canada. It is located about 20 km northwest of Gatineau. The lake was named after Reverend Asa Meech, an early settler in the area.
Near the ...
and
Charlottetown
Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlottetown was an unincorporated town until it was incorporated as a city in ...
Accords, this financial compensation was to be extended to include any constitutional amendment that transferred any legislative powers, not just those relating to education or other cultural matters. However, neither the Meech Lake nor the Charlottetown Accords were ratified.
See also
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Fiscal federalism
As a subfield of public economics, fiscal federalism is concerned with "understanding which functions and instruments are best centralized and which are best placed in the sphere of decentralized levels of government" (Oates, 1999). In other words, ...
*
Opt-outs in the European Union
External links
website explaining the history of the opting out formulas
{{DEFAULTSORT:Opting Out
Federalism
Government in Canada