Imagine two elected representatives who are basically very similar persons. The difference between them is one of them lives in your community and is your neighbor, the other has never been to your community, has never heard of your community, has never and will never meet you and lives thousands of miles away.
Everything else being equal, which of these representatives might do a better job for you and your community? Which of them understands the needs of your community better? Which of these representatives is more accessible and accountable?
The answer is pretty obvious: the elected representative who lives in your community understands your community, cares about your community and is much more accessible and accountable than someone who is thousands of miles away.
Having our "decision makers" live in Ottawa is actually a very bad thing for Canadians. They have become too powerful, too unaccountable and too inaccessible. They do not know what is best for our communities and they don't seem to care. Unfortunately for us, the neighbors of our "elected" officials are all lobbyists.
A better system would be a federal government with less power and provinces with more power. The job of the federal government should be to do one thing only: coordinate the provinces towards the advancement of the quality of life of all Canadians. We want our representatives to be people who are close to our communities, not people who can't connect with us. The more central and powerful a government becomes, the more corrupt that government becomes.
It is impossible to make that dramatic change to our system in one step. A better strategy is to weaken the federal government in any and all (legal) ways possible. One way is to support the separation of Quebec. That goal is very obtainable considering how close the last referendum was. If Quebec were to separate the federal government would be severely weakened and that would be a victory for all Canadians. And if it encouraged more provinces and even states to separate it would become a victory for many more people.
Even a partial separation would be a step in the right direction. Other provinces could and should demand the same rights that Quebec has and may acquire. Then our provincial representatives would be the ones we could hold accountable, rather than someone from thousands of miles away who only visits to campaign.
Update
These are great times for Europe. With any luck the European Union will break up and dirty politicians won't be able to hide in Brussels anymore, they will have to stay in their home countries and face the people they are screwing over.
