Calgary Herald
In Greece, citizens can, on average, retire with a full
government pension at the age of 58. In Germany,
the citizens expected to help bail out the bankrupt
Greeks must work until the age of 67 before they can
retire.
Naturally, German citizens are wondering how this
can be considered fair. Why should they have to work
nine years longer so Greek citizens can live a life of
leisure?
What's more, in Germany, most working people pay
taxes. In Greece,
only 20 per cent pay taxes. Again, unfair.
And yet equalization between "have" European Union
states and "have not" European Union states
continues, even though it's not making things equal -
- it's rewarding laziness, leisure and possibly even
criminal tax evasion. Why pay taxes if some hard-
working Germans will do it for you? Thus the riots in
Greece. They believe they are entitled to those
entitlements.
Dysfunctional? You bet. We Canadians would never
stand for such a thing. Right? Think again.
Equalization in Canada was established to ensure that
"have-not" regions could enjoy the same programs as
"have" regions and most Canadians wouldn't quibble
with that. But that has not happened. In fact, the
reverse has occurred. The have provinces have fewer
services than the have-nots.
In Quebec -- which opted out of the Canada Pension
Plan and administers its own pension plan -- citizens
can retire with a full pension at age 62. In the rest of
Canada, the age contributors can receive full benefits
is 65.
In light of the fact that Quebec received $8.6 billion in
equalization payments in 2010-11 out of a total
equalization pot of $14.4 billion, it's safe to say that
citizens in Canada's "have" provinces -- British
Columbia, Alberta and Ontario -- are paying for
Quebecers' early retirement, as theirs is the only
province which has such a generous, early retirement
benefit.
In other words, equalization is not very equal.
What's more, Quebecers can take advantage of $7-a-
day day care, whereas, in most other provinces, $7
wouldn't even buy you an hour of day care or
babysitting.
Quebec has a very generous pharmaceutical program
unlike any other in the country and Quebec university
students pay considerably less for tuition within
Quebec than students from anywhere else in the
country.
For instance, to attend McGill University in 2010,
Quebec students pay $3,475 for tuition and fees. An
out-of-province student attending McGill pays
$7,008, or $3,533 more than a Quebec student --
more than double! Five of the six cheapest
universities in Canada are in Quebec -- but they're
only the cheapest for Quebecers. Those same
universities are among the most expensive in Canada
for non-Quebecers.
&n bsp;
Sherbrooke has the lowest university tuition and fees
in the entire country -- but again, only for
Quebecers, who pay just $2,381. To attend the same
university, a non-Quebecer, from Alberta, for
instance, must pay $5,914 or $3,533 more than his
Quebec colleague. In other words, when that Alberta
student works through the summer in Alberta to save
up for tuition and living expenses, the taxes he or she
will pay will actually h elp subsidize the Quebec
student's tuition.
Lately, Quebecers, like Conservative MP Maxime
Bernier, have criticized Quebec's overreliance on
equalization, saying Quebecers are "spoiled children."
But that's got Quebec's Liberal provincial government
fighting back. In its 2010-11 budget document, the
Jean Charest government is actually arguing that it
should receive even more equalization than it's
getting because Alberta's oil industry is keeping the
Canadian dollar high, which in turn harms Quebec's
manufacturing sector. This is not a joke.
"A rise in the world price of a barrel of oil favours
provinces that have that resource," states the budget
document in Section E.
"However, the rise in the Canadian dollar that
accompanies the rising price of oil hampers the
exports of the other provinces. An adequate
equalization program can mitigate this phenomenon
by increasing the revenues of provinces that are
negatively affected by the rise in the dollar, without
red ucing the revenues of provinces that benefit from
the higher price of oil."
In other words, Quebec, which received $8.6 billion of
the $14.4 billion doled out in equalization this year,
is arguing that it's not enough! It wants more and it
blames Alberta's oil industry for its troubles. It's a
curious argument since it can be argued that
Alberta's oil industry is literally fuelling Canada's
economy and largely provided the money that was
sent as equalization to Quebec in the first place.
&nbs p;
In 2007, the last year Statistics Canada figures are
available for all provinces, B.C., Alberta and Ontario
were the only provinces that paid more into
Confederation than they received. Alberta paid a total
of $37.064 billion in taxes and transfers to the
federal government and the feds returned $17.567
billion in services and programs, meaning that
Alberta contributed $19.5 billion net to the rest of
Canada.
&n bsp;
But Charest, who complained in Copenhagen that
Alberta's oil sands industry "embarrassed" him, is
actually making the argument that despite Alberta's
largesse, it's to blame for the trouble Quebec is in.
In short, it's all Greek to Quebec -- and that's
frightening.
In Greece, citizens can, on average, retire with a full
government pension at the age of 58. In Germany,
the citizens expected to help bail out the bankrupt
Greeks must work until the age of 67 before they can
retire.
Naturally, German citizens are wondering how this
can be considered fair. Why should they have to work
nine years longer so Greek citizens can live a life of
leisure?
What's more, in Germany, most working people pay
taxes. In Greece,
only 20 per cent pay taxes. Again, unfair.
And yet equalization between "have" European Union
states and "have not" European Union states
continues, even though it's not making things equal -
- it's rewarding laziness, leisure and possibly even
criminal tax evasion. Why pay taxes if some hard-
working Germans will do it for you? Thus the riots in
Greece. They believe they are entitled to those
entitlements.
Dysfunctional? You bet. We Canadians would never
stand for such a thing. Right? Think again.
Equalization in Canada was established to ensure that
"have-not" regions could enjoy the same programs as
"have" regions and most Canadians wouldn't quibble
with that. But that has not happened. In fact, the
reverse has occurred. The have provinces have fewer
services than the have-nots.
In Quebec -- which opted out of the Canada Pension
Plan and administers its own pension plan -- citizens
can retire with a full pension at age 62. In the rest of
Canada, the age contributors can receive full benefits
is 65.
In light of the fact that Quebec received $8.6 billion in
equalization payments in 2010-11 out of a total
equalization pot of $14.4 billion, it's safe to say that
citizens in Canada's "have" provinces -- British
Columbia, Alberta and Ontario -- are paying for
Quebecers' early retirement, as theirs is the only
province which has such a generous, early retirement
benefit.
In other words, equalization is not very equal.
What's more, Quebecers can take advantage of $7-a-
day day care, whereas, in most other provinces, $7
wouldn't even buy you an hour of day care or
babysitting.
Quebec has a very generous pharmaceutical program
unlike any other in the country and Quebec university
students pay considerably less for tuition within
Quebec than students from anywhere else in the
country.
For instance, to attend McGill University in 2010,
Quebec students pay $3,475 for tuition and fees. An
out-of-province student attending McGill pays
$7,008, or $3,533 more than a Quebec student --
more than double! Five of the six cheapest
universities in Canada are in Quebec -- but they're
only the cheapest for Quebecers. Those same
universities are among the most expensive in Canada
for non-Quebecers.
&n bsp;
Sherbrooke has the lowest university tuition and fees
in the entire country -- but again, only for
Quebecers, who pay just $2,381. To attend the same
university, a non-Quebecer, from Alberta, for
instance, must pay $5,914 or $3,533 more than his
Quebec colleague. In other words, when that Alberta
student works through the summer in Alberta to save
up for tuition and living expenses, the taxes he or she
will pay will actually h elp subsidize the Quebec
student's tuition.
Lately, Quebecers, like Conservative MP Maxime
Bernier, have criticized Quebec's overreliance on
equalization, saying Quebecers are "spoiled children."
But that's got Quebec's Liberal provincial government
fighting back. In its 2010-11 budget document, the
Jean Charest government is actually arguing that it
should receive even more equalization than it's
getting because Alberta's oil industry is keeping the
Canadian dollar high, which in turn harms Quebec's
manufacturing sector. This is not a joke.
"A rise in the world price of a barrel of oil favours
provinces that have that resource," states the budget
document in Section E.
"However, the rise in the Canadian dollar that
accompanies the rising price of oil hampers the
exports of the other provinces. An adequate
equalization program can mitigate this phenomenon
by increasing the revenues of provinces that are
negatively affected by the rise in the dollar, without
red ucing the revenues of provinces that benefit from
the higher price of oil."
In other words, Quebec, which received $8.6 billion of
the $14.4 billion doled out in equalization this year,
is arguing that it's not enough! It wants more and it
blames Alberta's oil industry for its troubles. It's a
curious argument since it can be argued that
Alberta's oil industry is literally fuelling Canada's
economy and largely provided the money that was
sent as equalization to Quebec in the first place.
&nbs p;
In 2007, the last year Statistics Canada figures are
available for all provinces, B.C., Alberta and Ontario
were the only provinces that paid more into
Confederation than they received. Alberta paid a total
of $37.064 billion in taxes and transfers to the
federal government and the feds returned $17.567
billion in services and programs, meaning that
Alberta contributed $19.5 billion net to the rest of
Canada.
&n bsp;
But Charest, who complained in Copenhagen that
Alberta's oil sands industry "embarrassed" him, is
actually making the argument that despite Alberta's
largesse, it's to blame for the trouble Quebec is in.
In short, it's all Greek to Quebec -- and that's
frightening.
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