Three Conservative senators are proposing the three Maritime provinces - Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, should merge into one province.
It's a good thing they are appointed, because Senators Mike Duffy (P.E.I.), John Wallace (N.B.) and Stephen Greene (N.S.) would never be re-elected.
That's not to say it's a bad idea. Consider the foundation of their arguments: they have 1.8 million people, and three entire governmental structures to support them. Three premiers, three legislatures, three departments of highways and three health care systems, all with their own administrations. In tight times, supporting that much overhead seems superfluous.
Instead of working together, they each pull in their own direction. The National Post noted that John Savage, the late former premier of Nova Scotia, saw heavy competition from his neighbour. He said, "Wherever I go to sell Nova Scotia, I find that Frank McKenna was there the week before."
It reminds me of my time as City Hall reporter in North Battleford. After a while covering that beat, I came to the conclusion North Battleford and Battleford were the most obvious case in Saskatchewan for a municipal merger. A column I wrote to that effect earned me some respect in some circles, and few friends in others. Generally speaking, North Battleford people didn't mind the idea, but Battleford folks gave the idea the cold shoulder.
The people from Battleford pointed out that after a major snowstorm, their grader cleaned all the streets within a day, while North Battleford's crews struggled for days to dig out. My suggestion was that perhaps the Battleford grader, parked after it was done its rounds, might come across the river and help out.
Battleford people also, at times, felt they didn't get enough police coverage compared to their financial contribution to the Battlefords RCMP detachment. In this, they conveniently neglected the fact that most Mounties, in being posted to the Battlefords, moved to the town of Battleford. Because most of the Mounties lived in Battleford, there was correspondingly less crime in Battleford, and because there was less crime in Battleford, most of the Mounties moved there. In the meantime, North Battleford, with one of the highest crime rates in Canada, couldn't figure out why none of the Mounties wanted to live there.
No matter what you did, there would always be a case of one side of the river feeling it was hard done by, so everyone felt it was best to continue to leave well enough alone, and in the case of North Battleford at the time, enjoy some of the highest taxes in the province for a community its size.
I can see similar issues writ large in a united Maritimes. While a merged province would make financial sense, the territorial battles will never end.
That being said, it's really hard to justify provincial status for the 140,000 people, the size of a Toronto suburb.
When the premiers get together, which has more clout, three tiny provinces or one larger province? That one province only gets one vote at the table.
Maybe this is why we have senators. In secure positions, they can propose politically unpalatable, but otherwise necessary ideas. Their "sober second thought" can look at areas that those seeking re-election fear to tread. Let me tell you, anyone running for the office of mayor of the Town of Battleford on a platform of merger with North Battleford has the political prospects of a snowball in hell.
This is why mergers on Toronto and Montreal came down from on high, from their respective provinces. But there's no way the federal government could do the same.
It's a nice thought experiment, but the merger of the Atlantic provinces will never happen in our lifetimes. There are too many fiefdoms to protect for it to ever become feasible.
- Brian Zinchuk is editor of Pipeline News. He can be reached at [email protected]
