Do we really need provincial governments?

This question has popped in and out of my head for years. It comes on with all the power of a brainwave, only to vaporize as political reality asserts itself. Nah, it'd never happen, and if it did, it probably wouldn't work...

Still, let's unpack the question. It usually comes to mind in response to some story about crumbling infrastructure, of which this country has about an infrastructure's worth. Chunks of concrete routinely fall off Montreal bridges, the Gardiner Expressway in Toronto just sloughed off a chunk of its own, and that's to say nothing of all the sewers, some of them dating back over a century...or the hydro network, which is taxed to the limit every summer...or even broadband Internet, which the old fogey in me suggests really isn't a priority. It is, or should be.

So right now we have ten provincial and three territorial governments, funded by varying levels of taxation and federal handouts (read: more taxation). Their chief responsibilities are implementation of 1) health care; 2) most forms of justice; 3) environmental regulations and 4) administrivia like driver's licenses and emissions tests and whatnot. Quebec, as usual, is a special case: its provincial government (which meets in a 'National Assembly') has many of the characteristics of a federal government.

Are these governments strictly necessary? Could we not rejig things so that their roles could be taken over by federal or municipal governments, as appropriate? Health care can and should be a federal responsibility, at least if we're as committed to equality as we say we are. Ditto the environment. Justice already is served in municipal courtrooms across the country and the petty little paperwork is likewise filled out in stuffy offices in every county seat in the nation.

I'm not sure how much money would actually be freed up by abolishing a level of government. Witness the repeated amalgamation fiascos under Mike Harris, in which cities were merged together only to see the size and cost of their governments balloon instead of shrink. I'd argue that amalgamation has yet to be properly handled. My city rejects it at every mention, despite being incredibly overgoverned: as I have said, we have three city governments plus one regional government to govern anything the other three governments forgot to govern. I think you could eliminate three municipal governments without anybody noticing, if you did it right.

But even if we don't save a penny beyond salaries, I'd argue that reallocation of resources and responsibilities makes sense. Municipalities need more power if they hope to stay afloat in coming years. And power costs...more than what cities can take in through property taxes. I guess I don't see the point of the middleman.

Another advantage: one layer of partisan politics gone. Municipal affairs can get heated, but at the end of the week most councillors understand they have to live in the same place. This tends to put a brake on some of the more egregious little culture wars that our Harper government specializes in.

Just a thought. Quebeckers, feel free to shoot it down.