"On Saturday, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney repeated his party’s promise to hold a referendum on the federal scheme that siphons billions of dollars annually from “have” provinces (with the bulk coming from Alberta) to “have-not” provinces such as Quebec (which is by far the biggest receiver). The UCP’s equalization vote would be in October 2021."
"[Quebec's Premier] insisted equalization has “been in the Constitution since Day 1 of Canada.” Um, no. Day 1 would be July 1, 1867. Equalization has only been in the Constitution since 1982 – 115 years after the fact.
And, as Kenney pointed out on Monday, Quebec refused to sign the 1982 version of our Constitution. So, technically, Quebec has never formally endorsed the principle of equalization, even though it receives $13 billion a year in equalization payments or roughly half the total Ottawa pays out.
Legault insisted, “When Quebec got into Canada, equalization was in the plan. It is part of the original deal. We can’t change the original deal.” Wrong again.
Equalization didn’t even appear as a federal program (much less a Constitutional amendment) until 1957. And although it has been in the Constitution for nearly 40 years, no amounts or percentages are specified. It could be greatly reduced and still be legal."
Read Gunter's entire at the Edmonton Sun -- here.
"[Quebec's Premier] insisted equalization has “been in the Constitution since Day 1 of Canada.” Um, no. Day 1 would be July 1, 1867. Equalization has only been in the Constitution since 1982 – 115 years after the fact.
And, as Kenney pointed out on Monday, Quebec refused to sign the 1982 version of our Constitution. So, technically, Quebec has never formally endorsed the principle of equalization, even though it receives $13 billion a year in equalization payments or roughly half the total Ottawa pays out.
Legault insisted, “When Quebec got into Canada, equalization was in the plan. It is part of the original deal. We can’t change the original deal.” Wrong again.
Equalization didn’t even appear as a federal program (much less a Constitutional amendment) until 1957. And although it has been in the Constitution for nearly 40 years, no amounts or percentages are specified. It could be greatly reduced and still be legal."
Read Gunter's entire at the Edmonton Sun -- here.
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