Michael Behiels and some other concerned scholars of politics at the University of Ottawa are organizing a conference next October "The State in Transition: Challenges for Canadian Federalism." Here's the raison d'etre:
"Canadian federalism -- as a mode of political governance for a complex society facing multiple cleavages, economic, political, geographic, cultural, and national -- is facing enormous challenges. The pressures of globalization, the increasing economic and political integration between Canada and the United States, the impact of neo-liberalism on the Canadian state, the unequal distribution of resources and revenues, the ongoing demands of the Aboriginal Peoples and the Québec People, the growing demands for the democratization of our political institutions, are modifying the ways in which Canadians perceive federalism, the Canadian federation, and the complex process of intergovernmental relations.
"Participants are invited to [consider] if Canadian federalism has entered a transition phase...."
Conference runs October 23-25, 2008. I don't think they will exhaust that agenda in 3 days!
If you are interested, info from the organizing committee: ccf_cfc@uottawa.ca
