Ceci slams equalization, says it ‘has not worked’

EDMONTON Alberta’s finance minister slammed the federal equalization program Wednesday ahead of an Ottawa meeting where he said he’ll be calling for changes to balance the scales.

“I’m going to be doing that as loudly as I can,” Joe Ceci told reporters at the legislature. “The program has not worked for Alberta, even during the depths of our recession, which started late 2014.”

That year, Alberta lost $6.5 billion in revenue from non-renewable resource royalties and received a meagre $251 million out of the federal Fiscal Stabilization Program, he said.

“It just shows you how inadequate it was ... Albertans have not seen the benefit of this program for decades while they have contributed mightily to the federal coffers in this country.”

Ceci said it’s not the first time he’s brought up the issue; he wrote a letter to federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau in December 2017. The response from Morneau, Ceci said, was to keep the status quo.

“That’s not good enough,” he said. “Every man, woman and child in this province contributes six times more than the closest province in terms of the per capita amount.”

Last year, the federal program handed out about $18 billion to Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba. Quebec received $11 billion in total.

His comments come on the heels of Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe’s announcement that he would put forward a proposal to change the equalization formula.

The plan is up for renewal in 2019.

UCP Leader Jason Kenney said the NDP “reversed course” in its stance.

“The NDP mocked and ridiculed the United Conservatives and its legacy parities for suggesting that this government should be fighting for a better deal on equalization,” he said in a statement.

“Albertans have been more than willing to contribute to the federation when times were good, and we deserve an equalization system that will be there for us when times are bad.”

Ceci will be attending a June 26 finance ministers’ meeting in Ottawa, where he said his top priorities will include championing changes to equalization and advocating for the Trans Mountain pipeline.