Equalization should be reformed to serve the public interest of all Canadians. Equalization: Fix it Permanently and Fix it Nation-Wide discusses the need to reform equalization, as well as the need to clearly explain equalization to Canadian taxpayers.
Document Highlights
Last spring, Prime Minister Paul Martin promised Newfoundland a better deal on equalization, allowing it to benefit from its offshore oil revenues without suffering sharp declines in equalization payments. Not long after, the Prime Minister and Premier Williams of Newfoundland publicly disagreed over precisely what the Prime Minister said and meant, and more broadly what Newfoundland deserved. Within a few months, discussions had ended in a stalemate, replaced by silences punctuated by exchanges of acrimonious letters.
The purpose of this briefing is to clarify the debate and its significance, and to suggest how equalization should be reformed to serve the public interest of all Canadians.
Equalization needs to be clarified, simplified and based on greater budgetary certainty— and not just for the recipient provinces. The federal government, and Canada’s taxpayers, need to know what they are paying for, who they are paying it to, and that the amounts paid are reasonable and within fixed budgets.
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