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Dexter Calls on Harper To Guarantee Offshore Accord |
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Written by NDP News Release
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Tuesday, 14 March 2006 |
Opposition Leader Darrell Dexter has written Prime Minister Stephen Harper to ask him for a public statement reaffirming the Government of Canada's commitment to the Offshore Accord signed by the federal government and Nova Scotia in February 2005.
Dexter says that he was taken aback by new Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's statement during a recent speech that "the current equalization process is a mess due to ad hoc., one-off deals by the previous government."
"What I want from Stephen Harper is a clear guarantee that he will leave the Offshore Accord intact," says Dexter. "I want assurance from him that these remarks were a reflection only of the Finance Minister's own opinion and the not official position of the federal government."
"We all worked together on this - all three parties in Nova Scotia, Jack Layton in Ottawa, and Harper himself when he was in Opposition. The agreement was that Nova Scotia should be the principal beneficiary of our own offshore. We need an honest answer. Is the Harper government thinking about breaking the Accord? Only Stephen Harper can tell us."
Dexter has copied his letter to Harper to Premier Rodney MacDonald, Francis MacKenzie, Jack Layton, Alexa McDonough, Peter Stoffer, and to Minister of Finance, Jim Flaherty. |
