Johanne Poirier

Formal Mechanisms of Intergovernmental Relations in Belgium

This article describes and analyses formal aspects of intergovernmental relations in Belgium. The first section describes the Belgian federal system as well as the essential elements of the legislative distribution of powers. The second section deals with the role of courts in resolving – or preventing – conflicts of a constitutional nature. The third section examines a series of formal cooperative measures introduced in the Belgian legal order since 1989. Courts intervene to ensure that these measures are indeed followed. The final section is concerned with one of the most common and formal mechanisms of intergovernmental relations in all federations: intergovernmental agreements. The particularly antagonistic nature of Belgian politics, and a strong preference for legal instruments as opposed to mere political agreements, explains why many forms of intergovernmental relations have a statutory foundation and are justiciable in Belgium, when they do not necessarily enjoy the same degree of formality in other systems.

The effects of vitamin E and selenium intake on oxidative stress and plasma lipids in hamsters fed fish oil

The aim of the present work was to test the effects of large-dose supplementation of vitamin E (Vit E) and selenium (Se), either singly or in combination, on fish oil (FO)-induced tissue lipid peroxidation and hyperlipidemia. The supplementation of Se has been shown to lower blood cholesterol and increase tissue concentrations of the antioxidant glutathione (GSH); however, the effects of Se supplementation, either alone or in combination with supplemental Vit E, on FO-induced oxidative stress and hyperlipidemia have not been studied. Male Syrian hamsters received FO-based diets that contained 14.3 wt% fat and 0.46 wt% cholesterol supplemented with Vit E (129 IU d-α-tocopheryl acetate/kg diet) and/or Se (3.4 ppm as sodium selenate) or that contained basal requirements of both nutrients. The cardiac tissue of hamsters fed supplemental Se showed increased concentrations of lipid hydroperoxides (LPO) but decreased oxidized glutathione (GSSG) concentrations. The higher concentrations of LPO in the hearts of Se-supplemented hamsters were not lowered with concurrent Vit E supplementation. In the liver, Se supplementation was associated with higher Se-dependent glutathione peroxidase activity and an increase in the GSH/GSSG ratio, whereas a lower hepatic non-Se-dependent glutathione peroxidase activity was seen with Vit E supplementation. Supplemental intake of Se was associated with lower plasma concentrations of total cholesterol and low density lipoprotein cholesterol plus very low density lipoprotein cholesterol. In view of the pro-oxidative effects of Se supplementation on cardiac tissue, a cautionary approach needs to be taken regarding the plasma lipid-lowering properties of supplemental Se.

Pouvoir normatif et protection sociale dans les fédérations multinationales

In multinational polities, different orders of government are involved in determining the norms of social protection. In this context, this article addresses the question of who does what, how and why. The first section deals with the distribution of normative power concerning social protection in federal states and in the European Union. The second section examines a variety of devices enabling the articulation of shared power. Finally, a third section concentrates on the different functions of normative power in the social domain. The first one is obviously redistributive. Secondly, the exercise of normative power legitimises public institutions of all government levels involved. The third function, which is of particular interest in the context of multinational States (or political spaces such as Europe) consists in the consolidation of citizenship. The solidarity inherent in norms of social protection reflects the sense of belonging to a particular social group, and in this context, the nation. It can also serve to strengthen the sense of belonging to the larger political space, the multinational federation. In complex political structures, the power to establish norms of social protection contributes to the phenomenon of multiple loyalties and overlapping citizenship. Cementing citizenship in such a political context cannot succeed through homogenisation, but must respect the cultural dimension of social protection and the right to be different.

Antioxidant Supplements Improve Profiles of Hepatic Oxysterols and Plasma Lipids in Butter-fed Hamsters.

Hypercholesterolemia diets are associated with oxidative stress that may contribute to hypercholesterolemia by adversely affecting enzymatically-generated oxysterols involved in cholesterol homeostasis. An experiment was conducted to examine whether the cholesterol-lowering effects of the antioxidants selenium and α-tocopherol were related to hepatic oxysterol concentrations. Four groups of male Syrian hamsters (n = 7-8) were fed high cholesterol and saturated fat (0.46% cholesterol, 14.3% fat) hypercholesterolemic semi-purified diets: 1) Control; 2) Control + α-tocopherol (67 IU all-racemic-α-tocopheryl-acetate/kg diet); 3) Control + selenium (3.4 mg selenate/kg diet); and 4) Control + α-tocopherol + selenium. Antioxidant supplementation was associated with lowered plasma cholesterol concentrations, decreased tissue lipid peroxidation and higher hepatic oxysterol concentrations. A second experiment examined the effect of graded selenium doses (0.15, 0.85, 1.7 and 3.4 mg selenate/kg diet) on mRNA expression of the oxysterol-generating enzyme, hepatic 27-hydroxylase (CYP27A1, EC 1.14.13.15), in hamsters (n = 8-9) fed the hypercholesterolemic diets. Supplementation of selenium at 3.4 mg selenate/kg diet was not associated with increased hepatic 27-hydroxylase mRNA. In conclusion, the cholesterol lowering effects of selenium and α-tocopherol were associated with increased hepatic enzymatically generated oxysterol concentrations, which appears to be mediated via improved antioxidant status rather than increased enzymatic production.

High-dose supplemental selenite to male Syrian hamsters fed hypercholesterolaemic diets alters Ldlr , Abcg8 and Npc1l1 mRNA expression and lowers plasma cholesterol concentrations

The aim of the present study was to elucidate possible cholesterol-lowering mechanism(s) of high-dose supplemental Se in the form of selenite, a known hypocholesterolaemic agent. Male Syrian hamsters (four groups, ten per group) were fed semi-purified diets for 4 weeks containing 0.1 % cholesterol and 15 % saturated fat with selenite corresponding to varying levels of Se: (1) Se 0.15 parts per million (ppm), control diet; (2) Se 0.85 ppm; (3) Se 1.7 ppm; (4) Se 3.4 ppm. Lipids were measured in the bile, faeces, liver and plasma. The mRNA expression of several known regulators of cholesterol homeostasis (ATP-binding cassette transporters g5 (Abcg5) and g8 (Abcg8), 7-hydroxylase, 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase, LDL receptor (LdLr) and Nieman-Pick C1-like 1 protein (Npc1l1)) were measured in the liver and/or jejunum. Oxysterols including 24-(S)-hydroxycholesterol, 25-hydroxycholesterol and 27-hydroxycholesterol (27-OHC) were measured in the liver. Significantly lower total plasma cholesterol concentrations were observed in hamsters consuming the low (0.85 ppm) and high (3.4 ppm) Se doses. The two highest doses of Se resulted in decreased plasma LDL-cholesterol concentrations and increased mRNA levels of hepatic Abcg8, Ldlr and jejunal Ldlr. Higher hepatic 27-OHC and TAG concentrations and lower levels of jejunal Npc1l1 mRNA expression were noted in the 1.7 and 3.4 ppm Se-treated hamsters. Overall, Se-induced tissue changes in mRNA expression including increased hepatic Abcg8 and Ldlr, increased jejunal Ldlr and decreased jejunal Npc1l1, provide further elucidation regarding the hypocholesterolaemic mechanisms of action of Se in the form of selenite.

The Belgian Federation: Tools of Appeasement, Instruments of Confrontation

Since the 1970s, Belgium has transitioned from a centralized unitary state to a highly decentralized federal one. Mixing self-rule and joint-rule, it accommodates several cultural communities. However, institutions of appeasement have also engendered confrontation. This paper offers an institutional analysis of the Belgian federal structure. It examines its emergence, its socio-linguistic characteristics, its institutional makeup, and its cooperation and conflict resolution mechanisms. It then looks at the paradox of its simultaneously pacifying and confrontation-inducing institutions, concluding that Belgium’s institutional complexity is opaque for citizens, and that its divided territories, dual structures, and bipolar power-sharing arrangements reinforce divisions.

Souveraineté parlementaire et armes à feu : le fédéralisme coopératif dans la ligne de mire?

French Abstract: Depuis plusieurs annees, le principe du federalisme cooperatif a rempli deux fonctions dans la jurisprudence de la Cour supreme du Canada. D’une part, il a favorise une reconnaissance, de facto ou de jure, de chevauchements de competences. D’autre part, il a permis aux juges d’ecarter des obstacles a la normativite en reseau. Cette conception d’un federalisme « souple » ou « moderne » tranche avec la structure officiellement « dualiste » du federalisme canadien et invite les pouvoirs legislatifs et executifs de divers ordres de gouvernement a cooperer. L’arret de 2015 relatif a l’abolition du registre des armes d’epaule offre un terreau fertile pour analyser une troisieme fonction du federalisme cooperatif, qui emerge lorsque les autorites publiques de divers ordres de gouvernement ne cooperent pas, ou plus, ou souhaitent agir de maniere unilaterale en depit d’arrangements coordonnes preexistants. Dans cette affaire, la Cour supreme a refuse de revoir sa vision maximaliste du principe la souverainete parlementaire - l’un des piliers du federalisme « dualiste » - a la lumiere du federalisme cooperatif. Elle a ainsi implicitement refuse de reconnaitre aux divers legislateurs une quelconque obligation d’agir de bonne foi, en raison du contexte federal dans lequel ils evoluent. Bien qu’une dissidence robuste reitere son engouement pour le federalisme cooperatif, elle le fait en procedant a une reevaluation particulierement contextualisee des competences legislatives en l’instance, plutot que par la reconnaissance d’une quelconque forme de « loyaute federale ». Il en resulte une coexistence malaisee des conceptions « dualiste » et « cooperative » du federalisme dans la jurisprudence constitutionnelle canadienne. English Abstract: Over the years, the Supreme Court of Canada has evoked the principle of cooperative federalism to promote a de facto or de jure legislative overlap. It has also used cooperative federalism as a justification for removing (or ignoring) technical obstacles to the normative networks on which cooperative arrangements rest, and which belie the profound dualist nature of the official Canadian federal architecture. The Court’s 2015 ruling on the abolition of the Long-gun registry by federal authorities offers a fertile ground for reflecting on a third dimension of cooperative federalism, which arises when federal partners do not - or no longer - wish to collaborate. In that decision, the Court refused to revisit its maximalist understanding of Parliamentary sovereignty - one of the pillars of the “dualist” conception of federalism - in light of cooperative federalism. It thus implicitly refused to infuse constitutional law with any obligation on the part of federal partners to act in good faith in their dealings with one another. While a robust dissenting opinion reasserts a commitment to cooperative federalism, it does so through a strongly contextualised assessment of the distribution of competences, rather than by any recognition of some form of “federal loyalty”. The end-result is an uneasy co-existence of two distinct - and contradictory - conceptions of federalism in Canadian constitutional law.