Who Needs Provinces?

This is an article commenting on provinces in Canada and questioning why there is a need for them. A thought occurred to me as I crossed the border into Manitoba from Ontario at about the 20-hour mark of a solo drive that took me from just outside Owen Sound, Ont., to Beaverlodge, Alta. My intention here is not to pick on either Ontario or Manitoba. That frustration, combined with the anticlimactic border crossing, made me realize something: I was tired of the whole concept of provinces. What purpose do the provinces serve anyhow, especially now that they've shorn themselves of valuable institutions, cut social services or downloaded them onto the cities, and streamlined their civil services? So here's what I propose: dissolve the provincial governmental system and free us to roam this country unburdened by a paper trail. Imagine though, the joy you would feel if you could phone your cousin in New Brunswick at tax time, or your sister in Manitoba when registering a new vehicle, and complain about exactly the same forms.