Political pivot needed to solve housing woes, bureaucracy

Re: `Every problem is a housing problem' that shouldn't be left to municipalities

Interesting column in Saturday's Sun by Dan Fumano on housing regulation, and the inter-jurisdictional issues that affect both housing availability and the quality of tradeoffs among often competing interests. It points to some vital governance issues.

It could be argued that we are constitutionally cursed with multi-tiered government, with resultant suboptimal decision-making, and unnecessary bureaucratic burdens and costs to taxpayers. If politicians are truly interested in delivering necessary, shared services and support to those whom they claim to serve, they would focus on removing systemic irrationalities rather than on building their respective empires.

The issues extend beyond the housing sector. As one example, the provincial premiers are unanimous that the federal government should increase transfers for health care. No.

Given that government monies at all levels come from taxpayers, it would make far more sense to eliminate the transfers entirely. Health care is currently a provincial government responsibility. Government responsibility requires accountability. Let the provinces get the funds directly from us via provincial taxes. That way, we could more readily hold accountable those with the responsibility to deliver on our behalf, both by the tax burden (efficiency) and by province-to-province comparisons of performance and results (effectiveness). We wouldn't have to pay unnecessary bureaucrats, federal or provincial, to negotiate and (mis)manage transfer payments, and we wouldn't have to watch them waste time and our resources squabbling among themselves. Don't increase the transfers. Phase them out, and eliminate them, or, in what might be a better alternative, re-jig the constitutional framework to make health care a federal responsibility.

Ross Greenwood, Vancouver