Ontario is getting short-changed, and it’s not 'just math'
This year, like every year, the federal finance minister meets his provincial counterparts and tells them what they can expect to receive from the $65 billion in equalization and other federal transfers. This year, the allocations were publicly communicated in just four sentences, without any explanation of how the federal government decided how much goes to each province.
Every province except Ontario will see its fiscal transfers from the federal government go up next year. Ontario, on the other hand, will see a $640-million reduction. Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty’s office released a statement saying the cut to Ontario is “just math.” The federal government wants us to believe that the equalization formula, like the laws of gravity, is beyond human control. But the federal “math” doesn’t add up. The numbers didn’t just fall out of some equalization calculator in a way that just happens to punish Ontario.
In each of the past five years the federal government has said that provinces would be protected during challenging economic times. In a “temporary” measure extended for each of the past five years, the federal government has stepped in with extra funding so that no province’s total transfer would decline. This guarantee was extended to seven provinces for a total of $2.3 billion in extra funds.
The federal government chose not to do the same this year. Just coincidentally, this would have been the first and only year that Ontario – and only Ontario – would have qualified for extra funds.
http://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2013/12/19/ontario_is_getting_shortchanged_and_its_not_just_math.html
Getting his elbows up isn't getting him anywhere. He has to watch how Jason and Peter do it!
