A call for the end of equalization payments
Posted May 9, 2012 10:42 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Six not-for-profit and think tank organizations are teaming up, calling on Ottawa to address the inequities of the Federal Transfer Payment Program.
The program distributes wealth between the have and have-not provinces and is set to expire in 2014.
Gregory Thomas with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation says, it’s time to stop the free lunch program.
“The days of the free ride is over, it’s just a matter of time before it gets sorted out.”
Thomas adds it’s not right that provinces like Alberta are constantly bailing out other parts of the country, especially Quebec.
“That’s right, Quebec won’t allow natural gas drilling on its territory, so instead we drill the natural gas in Alberta and send the money to Quebec, now does that make any sense?”
The coalition says imbalances caused by the current system are damaging to both the recipient and donor provinces.
