Provinces and the pipeline

Re: Free-the-beer challenge fizzles in Supreme Court, April 20 From pipelines to environmental regulations to separatism to immigration, and even to beer, it is clear that Canada’s federation is not working and needs one simple overhaul: eliminate the provinces.

Why do Canadians need these 10 fiefdoms that control so many aspects of our lives in myriad ways? The creation of our federation 151 years ago, with its separation of powers between the federal and provincial governments, may have made sense at the time but, with the communications and transportation technology available today, it no longer does (even with its stupid 1982 update).

The federal government should administer defence, health, education, justice, immigration, trade, and all other areas common to all Canadians while municipal governments should take care of local infrastructure.

The provinces, with their widely varying population, land area, and resources, have no logical reason to exist. A high school graduation certificate should mean the same thing across Canada. If you break your leg, the treatment should be the same across Canada. The movement of goods across Canada should be free and unencumbered. Resources that exist in one region should benefit all Canadians. Financial regulations should be the same across the country. Taxes should be uniform.

We are over-governed. Think of the money we would save. Harold Knowles, Montreal The latest decision by the Supreme Court barring the movement of beer and alcohol between provinces and the looming trade war between B.C. and Alberta are a very sad indictment of the state of Canada’s economy and future economic growth.

We worry about renegotiating NAFTA when we cannot even get our own house in order (in terms of free trade). The American NAFTA negotiators must see us, and rightly so, as the gang who can’t shoot straight. Anton Benjamin, Toronto I think Parliament should use its prerogative to quash this decision before British Columbia uses it to restrict imports of bitumen across its borders. David Montgomery, Cambridge, Ont.