When is enough enough ???

[ajl]

I just ask why has the west not separated? It doesn't take much brain power to figure out where good ship Canuckistan is headed. Why be on board as it sinks?

[food4u]

apparently when the formula was made up they had to leave out revenue from hydro electricity. This was done to get Manitoba and Quebec to agree to the deal. How hydro is regarded as a non renewable resource and oil is classed as a renewable resource is beyond me.

[Hamloc]

I appreciate Brad Wall pointing this out. At a quick glance it looks like total equalization payments are roughly 15 billion of which Saskatchewan contributes 580 million. Unfortunately Alberta contributes much more even with projected deficits of 10 billion a year! It is amazing to me that the federal government extracts about 10-11 billion more out of Alberta in corporate and personal income tax than it returns in programming! Should the west separate? Absolutely!!

[sumdumguy]

Now if Alberta was the centre of western nation, the government would be NDP now. Cute!

[farmaholic]

Another subsidy going to Quebec from the rest of Canada.... the 60 Million Lotto Max was won by a single ticket "purchased" in that province. With any luck maybe it was someone travelling through and lives somewhere else!

Just kidding.... lucky ****er... who ever it is!

[sofa king]

funny that quebec and manitoba to a lesser extent can sell billions of dollars of hydro electricity and that isnt considered a natural resource so they get federal transfer payments and claim "have not" status. its definately time to seperate. this country is being run with a union mentality where the dead weight thrives off the backs of the hard working.

[stonepicker]

I hope you'll consider taking mb. with you! You can leave out wpg. if you want, most of the rural is blue.

[bucket]

For Quebec ...it also having the ace of separation that keeps their equalization coming. ...


The only case on history where the French lose the war and still controls a country for centuries. ...

Sounds like a defeat for sure....


With that theory the Canadian juniors should have been given the gold the other night....

[farmaholic]

......"where the dead weight thrives off the backs of the hard working"......and the RISK TAKERS

[sofa king]

yes stoney manitoba would be included in my dream of a western country because we need hydro power because the greenies wont let us build any new dams. if carbon is so bad why arent vehicles getting any better mileage than they were 30 or 40 years ago with all of the technology today we should be getting way better out of $70000.00 pickups. i guess a carbon tax wouldnt pay the govt much if fuel usage was cut way back and the big oil would have to take a haircut too. as a tax payer and consumer im sick of all the bullshit were being fed like theres a glut of beef so prices are down but not in the stores then theres always the fert shortage or glyphosate shortage does anyone remember peak oil theory and we are running out of oil dont hear that crap anymore end of rant f*&^k

[chuckChuck]

From Wikipedia
Calculating payments

Equalization payments are based on a formula that calculates the difference between the per capita revenue yield that a particular province would obtain using average tax rates and the national average per capita revenue yield at average tax rates. The current formula considers five major revenue sources (see below). The objective of the program is to ensure that all provinces have access to per capita revenues equal to the potential average of all ten provinces. The formula is based solely on revenues and does not consider the cost of providing services or the expenditure need of the provinces.

Equalization payments happen via the federal treasury. As an example, a wealthy citizen in New Brunswick, a so-called "have not" province, pays more into equalization than a poorer citizen in Alberta, a so-called "have" province. However, because of Alberta's greater wealth, the citizens of Alberta as a whole are net contributors to Equalization, while the citizens of New Brunswick are net receivers of Equalization payments.

Equalization payments are one example of what are often collectively referred to in Canada as "transfer payments", a term used in other jurisdictions to refer to cash payments to individuals (see Canadian transfer payments). The money the provinces receive through equalization can be spent in any way the provincial government desires. The payments help guarantee "reasonably comparable levels" of health care, education, and welfare in all the provinces. The definition of "reasonably comparable levels", however, has been the subject of considerable debate.

In 2009-2010, the total amount of the program was roughly 16.1 billion Canadian dollars.

Recent negotiations surrounding the renewal of the program have created considerable tension among provinces. Due to the zero-sum nature of the formula, increases in entitlements for some provinces necessarily lead to decreases for others.

[chuckChuck]

Equalization is a federal program. It is paid out of tax revenues paid to the federal government by all Canadians. The western provinces have higher incomes per capita than many eastern provinces therefore pay more federal taxes and receive less or no equalization. It is a complex formula.

When you look at all federal transfers to the provinces then you get a better picture of the benefits from federal transfers. Alberta does quite well in that regard.

It is always good politics for some western premiers to use the east west issues to campaign on. Any suggestion of western separation is not taken seriously.

If this was such a big issue why was Harper not able to fix it?