Disputes between the provinces and the federal government
Why not go bigger and make Canada a homogenous political unit or break it up into autonomous provinces?
Think about how much hot air blows between Ottawa and the provincial capitals as they fight to scapegoat the other. They fight over economic responsibility (e.g. when the question is whose policies caused a recession or who gets to take credit when employment goes down). They fight over budgetary failures (e.g. when the province blames downloading for ballooning expenses).
These disputes can lead to further disputes about who is responsible for fixing the problem which (if you accept that in a representative democracy the legislature is a stand-in for the people themselves) basically means that the Canadian people are fighting with themselves. Federalism can lead to a collective action problem because neither the province nor the federal government wants to be the first one to provide stimulus spending and absorb most of that cost, simply for political reasons.
No comments:
Post a Comment