[waterloowarrior]

There are several countries out there with cities as provinces/states like Germany (Berlin, Hamburg) and Russia (Moscow, St. Petersburg), or countries with their capital as a federal territory/district (Australia, India, Mexico, USA). Could be models for GTA/Ottawa. I think that is part of a larger conversation about the roles of cities in Canada and would be part of a new constitution rather trying to do something under the current one.

For the present I think creating a written Ontario constitution that included devolution to large autonomous regions would be the way to go, similar to what 1overcosc said. Canada is one of the few federal nations with few written provincial/state constitutions (BC has one, not sure if there are others). The constitution could give certain taxing powers and legislative powers to the region and remove the provincial role in that area. I think it should be part of a constitution so it can't just be changed from government to government, you'd need some kind of amending formula like a referendum.

The province would keep powers over many regulatory areas and have harmonization of certain areas, so that it's easy to move from London to Toronto without needing a new drivers licence, or for a business to open up in Ottawa and North Bay... but the regions would have legislative, taxing, and spending powers in many new areas. For example, the province would be in charge of the rules of the road, but the highways would be owned, funded and operated by the regions. Employment law would be province-wide but each region could set their own minimum wage, etc