<P> The Rowell--Sirois Commission officially known as the Royal Commission on Dominion--Provincial Relations was a Canadian Royal Commission looking into the Canadian economy and federal--provincial relations . It was called in 1937 and reported in 1940 . </P> <P> The Commission was chaired first by Newton Wesley Rowell and then by Joseph Sirois . James McGregor Stewart acted as chief counsel . It was called as a result of the Great Depression . The attempts to manage the Depression by the government illustrated grave flaws with the Canadian 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 for health care, education, and welfare when these were only minor concerns; by 1937, however, these had all become massive expenditure areas . </P> <P> The Commission recommended that the federal government take over control of unemployment insurance and pensions . It also recommended the creation of equalization payments and large transfers of money from the federal government to the province each year . Other recommendations were not adopted due to resistance from the provinces or the federal government . </P>

What were the main recommendations of the rowell-sirois report