Citizens Centre for Freedom and Democracy
November 1, 2007
David MacKinnon: "Why Ontario Should Not
and Can Not Pay Much Longer
You might remember David from our Calgary Congress a year ago -- he's a passionate and informed critic of Ottawa's regional fiscal "sharing," and why it hurts its recipients as much as the regions which pay for it. He's from Toronto (originally from the Atlantic) and has gathered a litany of examples of Equalization's absurdities, and the best graphs in Canada showing why it doesn't work.
This subject is of paramount importance to Albertans -- because as Ontario gets battered by high-cost energy and a high dollar, Alberta picks up the federal slack. As Ontario's federal contribution goes down, Alberta's goes up.
The day is rapidly approaching when Alberta will be the only significant net-payer of Equalization and other federal transfer boondoggles. Alberta's biggest public-sector cost is already the net cost of the federal government (the estimated $15 billion difference between what Albertans send to Ottawa in taxes, and what they get back in spending). Albertans pay more for federal subsidies to other provinces than for their own health system.
Tomorrow (Friday Nov. 2) David gives the luncheon address to the Rotary Club of West Calgary. Everyone (including nonRotarians) is welcome.
It costs $20 and you should phone Bill Tapuska today (Thursday) if you plan to attend, so he can alert the caterer (403-242-6722). If he doesn't answer, just leave a message.
Lunch is in the large private upstairs dining room of the Elbow River Casino at 18th Ave and Macleod Trail south of downtown. Try to arrive just before noon.
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Details:
Guest Speaker: David MacKinnon, Policy advisor on Ontario's fiscal relationship with other regions of Canada and the federal government
Ontario, particularly its manufacturing sector, is under pressure from rising energy prices and the muscular Canadian dollar. Yet the biggest province is also the largest funder of equalization, which transfers money to so-called “have not” provinces like Manitoba. David Mackinnon, an articulate critic of this policy, says it must stop - “Ontario is a jurisdiction trying to maintain our footing in a world where everything, including most key services, is now or soon will be open to international competition. Even while we face this environment, we are locked into a fiscal system which requires Ontarians to support others to a much higher standard of public services than its own and to devote an impossibly large proportion of its resources to do so.” Is this counter-productive
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About the Guest:
David MacKinnon, a native of Prince Edward Island, was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree (honours economics) from Dalhousie University and an MBA from York University. He was awarded a Centennial Fellowship by the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and York University to study at York, Harvard and Oxford Universities as well as the European Institute of Business Studies. Mr. MacKinnon served as Director, Planning and Economics and Executive Director, Development Strategy in the Nova Scotia Department of Economic Development from 1976 to 1981. He later served in several senior capacities in the Ontario Public Service, the Bank of Montreal and as CEO of the Ontario Hospital Association from 1996 to 2003. Mr. MacKinnon is a Public Member of the Council of the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons
November 1, 2007
David MacKinnon: "Why Ontario Should Not
and Can Not Pay Much Longer
You might remember David from our Calgary Congress a year ago -- he's a passionate and informed critic of Ottawa's regional fiscal "sharing," and why it hurts its recipients as much as the regions which pay for it. He's from Toronto (originally from the Atlantic) and has gathered a litany of examples of Equalization's absurdities, and the best graphs in Canada showing why it doesn't work.
This subject is of paramount importance to Albertans -- because as Ontario gets battered by high-cost energy and a high dollar, Alberta picks up the federal slack. As Ontario's federal contribution goes down, Alberta's goes up.
The day is rapidly approaching when Alberta will be the only significant net-payer of Equalization and other federal transfer boondoggles. Alberta's biggest public-sector cost is already the net cost of the federal government (the estimated $15 billion difference between what Albertans send to Ottawa in taxes, and what they get back in spending). Albertans pay more for federal subsidies to other provinces than for their own health system.
Tomorrow (Friday Nov. 2) David gives the luncheon address to the Rotary Club of West Calgary. Everyone (including nonRotarians) is welcome.
It costs $20 and you should phone Bill Tapuska today (Thursday) if you plan to attend, so he can alert the caterer (403-242-6722). If he doesn't answer, just leave a message.
Lunch is in the large private upstairs dining room of the Elbow River Casino at 18th Ave and Macleod Trail south of downtown. Try to arrive just before noon.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Details:
Guest Speaker: David MacKinnon, Policy advisor on Ontario's fiscal relationship with other regions of Canada and the federal government
Ontario, particularly its manufacturing sector, is under pressure from rising energy prices and the muscular Canadian dollar. Yet the biggest province is also the largest funder of equalization, which transfers money to so-called “have not” provinces like Manitoba. David Mackinnon, an articulate critic of this policy, says it must stop - “Ontario is a jurisdiction trying to maintain our footing in a world where everything, including most key services, is now or soon will be open to international competition. Even while we face this environment, we are locked into a fiscal system which requires Ontarians to support others to a much higher standard of public services than its own and to devote an impossibly large proportion of its resources to do so.” Is this counter-productive
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
About the Guest:
David MacKinnon, a native of Prince Edward Island, was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree (honours economics) from Dalhousie University and an MBA from York University. He was awarded a Centennial Fellowship by the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and York University to study at York, Harvard and Oxford Universities as well as the European Institute of Business Studies. Mr. MacKinnon served as Director, Planning and Economics and Executive Director, Development Strategy in the Nova Scotia Department of Economic Development from 1976 to 1981. He later served in several senior capacities in the Ontario Public Service, the Bank of Montreal and as CEO of the Ontario Hospital Association from 1996 to 2003. Mr. MacKinnon is a Public Member of the Council of the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons