 The members of the Rowell–Sirois Commission in 1938, after Newton Rowell resigned as co-chair because he had suffered a stroke. Seated, from left to right:H. F. Angus,J. W. Dafoe,Joseph Sirois (chairman) andR. A. MacKay. Standing behind them are commission staff members. | |
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| Inquiry period | August 14, 1937 (1937-08-14) – May 3, 1940 (1940-05-03) |
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| Volume IVolume IIVolume III | |
TheRowell–Sirois Commission, officially known as theRoyal Commission on Dominion–Provincial Relations, was a CanadianRoyal Commission that looked into theCanadian economy and federal–provincial relations. It was called in 1937 and reported in 1940.
The Commission was chaired first byNewton Rowell and then byJoseph Sirois.James McGregor Stewart acted as chief counsel. It was called as a result of theGreat Depression. The attempts to manage the Depression by the government illustrated grave flaws with theCanadian constitution. While the federal government had most of the revenue gathering powers, the provinces had unexpectedly greater expenditure responsibilities. The founders had given the provinces responsibility forhealth care,education, andwelfare when they were only minor concerns, but by 1937, however, they had all become massive expenditure areas.
The Commission recommended for the federal government to take over control ofunemployment insurance andpensions. It also recommended the creation ofequalization payments and large transfers of money from the federal government to the provinces each year. Other recommendations were not adopted because of resistance from the provinces or the federal government.
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