Brad makes some good points. But releasing some authority from the Federal gevernment back to the Provinces is only part of the problem. All you have to do is look at the States to see that sort of thing in action. Each State handles it's own matters regarding roads (except for Federal funds to be used on US highways and Interstates), it's own divorce laws, laws regarding contracts, corporations, etc.
This sounds scary and it is sometimes confusing. For instance, contract laws vary across the country, but major legal organizations have long produced a Model Code and worked with individual States to have that Code incorporated into that State's laws. Changes to the Code are gradually adopted across the country. All without Federal intervention.
State's are free to try different approaches to problems like healthcare delivery, even though much of their funding comes from Federal taxes. There are differences in driving laws, drinking laws, firearms legislation, etc. We live with it. Differing approaches to problems often results in far better service delivery to citizens, because a new method can be tried in one State and adopted in others when that method is seen to work better than others.
But giving local governments more authority over their own operations is only part of the problem, as I see it. The biggest issue facing Canadians, I think, is that representation is concentrated in the most populous Provinces. The Canadian government's own website says that while the US government is best described as having 'separation of powers', the Canadian govenment represents a 'concentration of power'.
Madison, one of our Founding Fathers, correctly (I believe) pointed out that the interests of the public are best served when different branches of government collide. Such collisions prevent one branch from overwhelming the others. In Canada, a single party can control the whole government. There is no way for the average citizen in say, Alberta, to exercise control over his government, because that control resides, effectively, in most populous Provinces.
I think, based on conversations I've seen here and after conducting a brief investagation of Canada's government, that making the Senate into a useful body might be a good way to start. Do like the States and elect two Senators from each Province. Require that all bills pass both houses. This gives every Province equal representation in one house and proportional representation in the other. It would be more difficult for one party to dominate the entire government.
Right now, the Republicans maintain a slim majority in our Senate, a larger majority in the House and they have the Presidency. Theoretically, they have control of the government, but in practical terms, they have to work with the Democrats in both houses in order to pass legislation.
It looks to me like Canada's Senate was intended for a more active role, back in the old days. I'm not familiar enough with Canadian history (it isn't taught much in our schools -- but then, neither is our own history) to be sure about that.
Just my thoughts on the subject. To me, concentration of power is almost always a poor way to go. A single group, acting for a whole country, may seem more efficent, but usually that efficency is wasted in misdirected efforts and lost in a sea of bureaucrats. Even in the States.
