Really, Now...

Equalization as a levelling of wealth and opportunities across Canada's provinces, where the well-off provinces would render through taxation to the Federal government, funding to be distributed to the have-not provinces was once heralded as a great Canadian bonding experience. Equalization was introduced in 1957 in an effort to promote comparable public services in all of Canada's ten provinces, where federal tax dollars were re-distributed to provinces with low per-capita revenues.

Now a report titled The Real Have-Nots in Confederation: Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia: How Canada's equalization program creates generous programs and large governments in have-not provinces, finally confronts the truth of the situation. That equalization, rather than proudly exemplifying unity between the provinces, has become a resounding dud. This was a universal national program whose concept once made Canadians feel proud.

But it's been quite a while since that feeling of national pride gave way to one of puzzled introspection, when some Canadians began to notice that they were paying for elite services available to populations in purportedly 'have-not' provinces not available to themselves, living in the 'wealthy' provinces. The Province of Quebec comes readily to mind, as the outstanding province with affordable day-care, free dental care, and low university tuition.

"The current system is broken", the report produced by the Frontier Centre for Public Policy concludes, "and the equalization program should be abolished or dramatically reformed to reduce the adverse, unintended consequences that the equalization program creates." Finally, the experts have deduced what ordinary Canadians have long ago suspected by merely keeping their ears and eyes open. Does it really take a genius to come to that conclusion?

And is any government going to be willing to yank that comfort blanket away from a province like Quebec which - though perennially complaining that its needs are overlooked, inclusive of its need to exit confederation for sovereignty, amid aggrieved claims that it gives more in taxation, culture and social awareness to the country than it receives in return - insists on ever more of the diminishing pie.

Quebec's equalization payments have grown by 74% in the last four fiscal years alone. It receives the lions' share of equalization payments, as almost $8.4-billion will be transferred to Quebec's coffers out of a total of $14.2-billion for the six receiving provinces. Which just about reflects the average share that Quebec receives of any money pot spread out among the provinces for any purpose.

Any political party in Canada hoping to receive a majority electoral vote would never dare propose devising a plan whereby Quebec would receive less than it now does. Quebec votes have traditionally been seen as majority-makers or -breakers, and the province has always been carefully and assiduously courted by politicians hoping to sway a brittle electorate to their ballot.

So now this report validates the reality that demonstrates that the recipient provinces enjoy larger government; more civil servants, nurses, doctors, teachers and long-term care beds per capita as opposed to the three major fiscal contributors to the national GDP. College and University tuition is higher, day-care spaces and long-term care beds are decidedly fewer in the privileged 'have' provinces.

How's that for justice, fairness and balance? "Unbelievably, the Government of Canada has never undertaken a serious study of the consequences of shifting $40- to $50-billion each year from high-productivity jurisdictions to those with low productivity and economies dominated by massive inefficiency in their public sectors", said David MacKinnon, a former senior bureaucrat.

Right on. And now, which government is it that would undertake to yank the comfort out from under those bloated provincial governments who misdirect funds they don't themselves internally acquire, with the risk looming large of losing votes come election time?