|
Premier Rodney MacDonald Appeals to Senate, Flaherty Loses Touch With Reality |
|
|
|
Written by HL Bloggers
|
|
Tuesday, 19 June 2007 |
|
In a Nova Scotia Government news release today it was reported that our Premier made his case to the Senate finance committee:
Premier Rodney MacDonald appealed to the Senate on Tuesday to use all of its power and authority to require the Parliament of Canada to honour Nova Scotia's offshore accord.
He presented evidence on how the federal budget kills the offshore accord, costs Nova Scotia hundreds of millions of dollars, jeopardizes federal-provincial relations and is dividing the country.
Premier MacDonald says the federal government's efforts to tear up the accord are not only extremely harmful to Nova Scotia, they damage the reputation of Parliament, fuel public cynicism, create regional divides, and cast a shadow over the future of our federation. He said it demonstrates to Canadians, that the word of their government is to be questioned -- and the contracts it signs on their behalf -- not worth the paper they are written on.
Finance officials estimate that losing the offshore accord could cost Nova Scotians between $793 million and $1.3 billion. Finance Minister Michael Baker proposed specific amendments to the federal budget legislation that would allow the federal government to compensate Nova Scotia for any lost offshore revenues as a result of equalization changes.
Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty however was unprepared to consider MacDonald's appeal and declared the federal budget a success adding, "the long, tiring, unproductive era of bickering between the provincial and federal governments is over." He maintained that Canada's New Government has achieved "a major accomplishment," and has achieved a "principled, predictable, long-term formula" for equalization. Flaherty noted that a few provinces were experiencing "some discomfort", specifically Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Saskatchewan but the majority of the country was quite supportive of his government's shoddy treatment of the above three provinces.
Flaherty in summing up his government's position said, "I must ensure that the pie is distributed fairly in a way that is of maximum, long-term benefit to [upper] Canadians."
For once, we can agree wholeheartedly with Minister Flaherty.
|
