Local organisations, the Constitution and federalism in Canada

Abstract

Local authorities in Canada do not play a constitutional role. They are not recognized as a third level of government in the federal structure, but as «creatures of the Provinces». They are incorporated to exercise delegated powers from the Provinces, the Territories and the Federation. This traditional and poor comprehension of the role of local authorities in the functioning of the State has been overcome in the last years. In 2001 the Supreme Court of Canada has recognized the principle of subsidiarity. This principle introduces in the Canadian legal order a new way of understanding the distribution of powers between the different levels of government. Local authorities are democratic legitimated bodies, and from this perspective they may play an important role representing the citizens in their territory and deciding the preferences in the rendering of services. This trend to recognize a wider local self-government to local bodies can be seen at the provincial and territorial level too. Municipal legislation has been reformed in the last years in many Provinces and Territories to recognize local authorities a greater sphere of powers. Lastly the standards used by judges in the judicial review are being developed too to assume this new trend of recognition of local self-government.