Last week we witnessed AlbertaSA国际影视传媒檚 government attempt to take credit for the Arctic Winter Games removing its vaccine mandate.
A government dominated by minority views is bullying an international sport organization into complying with its stance, and the optics only look good to people who hold said views. The rest of us stared at the scene in disbelief.
This and the Alberta premierSA国际影视传媒檚 nonsensical Sovereignty Act SA国际影视传媒� guaranteed to be shot down by the courts SA国际影视传媒� left me thinking; do provincial legislatures do anything other than create drama anymore?
Previously, I have argued Northern territories should be elevated to provinces. Today, the opposite argument SA国际影视传媒� perhaps we should consider a Canada without provinces.
A relic of the British empire, provinces were created when communication technology didnSA国际影视传媒檛 exist. The fastest the Crown could get orders from London to Ottawa was by sea and going farther inland required trains or horses. Breaking authority down into provincial jurisdictions was key to imperial stability SA国际影视传媒� you canSA国际影视传媒檛 direct people when it takes weeks to get a message to them, so having a person in charge whose allegiances match up to yours was the next best thing.
But that was the 19th century. Today, I can send a message anywhere on Earth and have a reply within minutes. Precursors to health and child care aside, ISA国际影视传媒檓 hard pressed to think of anything of real benefit to come out of provincial governments in recent history. These middle-men seem to only serve the interests of the dominant political party within their borders.
An example: In my birth province of Alberta, one of the ongoing beefs with the federal government is the federal equalization program. The program takes a portion of income tax collected by the federal government and then divides it among provinces. Ask around in Alberta and youSA国际影视传媒檒l hear about how itSA国际影视传媒檚 actually a Liberal conspiracy to take money from Albertans and funnel it to Quebecois. This provincial myth SA国际影视传媒� based on cherry-picked data SA国际影视传媒� has absolutely zero basis in reality, but keeps a lot of Albertans voting for the party promising to SA国际影视传媒渢ake the fight to Ottawa.SA国际影视传媒�
Ironically, when Stephen Harper was Prime Minister, the equalization formula came up for review, and he left it as it was. There was nary a peep out of Alberta, in spite of how serious a problem the program supposedly was. Years later, Justin Trudeau took the helm and again left it untouched SA国际影视传媒� and people started screaming about equalization again. Literally nothing changed, but the United Conservative Party rode peopleSA国际影视传媒檚 selective outrage to power.
If you looked at any other province dominated by a SA国际影视传媒渢ake the fight to OttawaSA国际影视传媒� party, youSA国际影视传媒檇 probably find they havenSA国际影视传媒檛 fixed any grievances with the federal government either. Why would they? Perpetual anger is a proven Orwellian path to perpetual power.
Abolishing provinces could remove tons of burdens on Canadian business. Imagine only one set of regulations to follow, no cross-border infrastructure disputes, Canada-wide free trade.
We love to blame Ottawa for almost everything, but the majority of problems in Canada stem from conflicting provincial jurisdictions.
Ottawa could easily take over the work of the provinces, reducing duplication of services, thinning bureaucracy, cutting red tape and slashing income taxes. Indigenous and municipal governments would be free to collaborate across former borders on longstanding issues like the condition of the Dempster Highway.
These endless, blatantly partisan provincial temper tantrums are an outrageous waste of tax dollars and human capital. If all we get from these billion-dollar institutions are predictable soap operas that go nowhere, weSA国际影视传媒檙e justified in asking if theySA国际影视传媒檙e still relevant.
