1976 Fredericton Encaenia
Graduation Address
Delivered by: Clark, Charles Joseph
Content
"Clark Urges Decentralization" Daily Gleaner (14 May 1976). (UA Case 67, Box 2)
Both the decision-making power and the financial resources behind some of the federal government’s "big, one-approach" programs should be decentralized because these programs have "fallen far short of both national investments and national expectations," Opposition leader Joe Clark said Thursday.
Mr. Clark made the statement in his encaenia address to UNB’s 1976 graduating class, during encaenia exercises at the new Aitken University Centre.
He said the national war on poverty and the department of regional economic expansion (DREE) program were not effective.
"…Despite our national war on poverty, a quarter to a third of our people still have annual incomes below what most authorities consider…a minimal standard of living," said Mr. Clark.
"Despite the best and most expensive efforts of DREE…at current rates of progress it will be at least 75 years before Atlantic Canada can reach national economic standard (and) there are still as many as 750,000 Canadians unable to find satisfying, meaningful and continuing employment."
He said an obvious place to start decentralization within the federal government structure is DREE. Community employment programs such as the Local Initiatives Programs (LIP) would be "much better administered at the Community level, where they can be more sensitive to local needs and more directly accountable to the communities they seek to serve."
Decentralization should also involve "transfer of power and program control between jurisdictions – hopefully, in some cases (from the federal government) on to local and regional governments," he said, which would demand "accompanying transfers of fiscal resources."
He expressed concern about the ability of the national economy to "sustain the ever-escalating burden of public expenditure."
He said the federal government still has "much to do…There is a massive need in this country for sound and enlightened economic management and leadership, to name but one area.
"To my mind, a strengthened and renewed sense of community should add to the spirit and unity of Canada and not take away from it," he said.
Both the decision-making power and the financial resources behind some of the federal government’s "big, one-approach" programs should be decentralized because these programs have "fallen far short of both national investments and national expectations," Opposition leader Joe Clark said Thursday.
Mr. Clark made the statement in his encaenia address to UNB’s 1976 graduating class, during encaenia exercises at the new Aitken University Centre.
He said the national war on poverty and the department of regional economic expansion (DREE) program were not effective.
"…Despite our national war on poverty, a quarter to a third of our people still have annual incomes below what most authorities consider…a minimal standard of living," said Mr. Clark.
"Despite the best and most expensive efforts of DREE…at current rates of progress it will be at least 75 years before Atlantic Canada can reach national economic standard (and) there are still as many as 750,000 Canadians unable to find satisfying, meaningful and continuing employment."
He said an obvious place to start decentralization within the federal government structure is DREE. Community employment programs such as the Local Initiatives Programs (LIP) would be "much better administered at the Community level, where they can be more sensitive to local needs and more directly accountable to the communities they seek to serve."
Decentralization should also involve "transfer of power and program control between jurisdictions – hopefully, in some cases (from the federal government) on to local and regional governments," he said, which would demand "accompanying transfers of fiscal resources."
He expressed concern about the ability of the national economy to "sustain the ever-escalating burden of public expenditure."
He said the federal government still has "much to do…There is a massive need in this country for sound and enlightened economic management and leadership, to name but one area.
"To my mind, a strengthened and renewed sense of community should add to the spirit and unity of Canada and not take away from it," he said.
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