through federal-provincial negotiations: the Royal Commission did not expect any would be formed in British Columbia or Newfoundland. Those provinces where bilingual districts were established would be asked to provide in such districts for the education of children in either English or French. The acceptance of these recommendations depends upon action by the provincial governments, not by the federal government, but if they do accept them, as we hope they will, the Government of Canada will be prepared to help in the implementation of these proposals if we are asked to do so. We will be glad to join with provincial governments in devising the methods by which our assistance could be made most effective.
We recognize that the guarantee of language rights in Canada will for a time present real and practical difficulties to many governments, particularly those of Canada, Ontario and New Brunswick. And we realize, unhappily, that there will be some people who will oppose the very principle of granting to French Canadians in English-speaking Canada the rights which English-speaking Canadians enjoy in Quebec. But if we, the first ministers of this country, would lead Canada, if we would do what we can to preserve and strengthen our nation, we must show the way to the adoption of a policy of linguistic equality.
Central Institutions of Canadian Federalism
The guarantee of the rights of individual Canadians, including linguistic rights, would be the first step in adapting Canada’s constitutional and governmental arrangements so as better to achieve the goals of our federation. The second step, in our view, would be the adaptation of our national institutions of government so as to ensure that they too were making their most effective contribution toward the realization of these goals.
The Government of Canada believes that the central institutions of government must be designed to ensure that the essential character of the country is preserved. Federalism is not just a matter of dividing up the powers of government between the federal and provincial governments in the hope of achieving an appropriate balance between the forces of unity and diversity in the nation. The division of powers is, of course, a central clement of federalism, and it must be fully considered at the Conferences which are to follow. But it should not be finally decided until the central institutions of federalism provided for in the Constitution have been re-examined.
The Parliament of Canada. The first such institution is the Parliament of Canada. The Constitution provides for two kinds of representation in Parliament; representation on the basis of population in the House of Commons, and representation on a regional basis in the Senate. But because Canadians gradually have come to believe that the Senate should not be able to override the will of a popularly elected body, the House
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