Clarke weighs in on equalization debate
‘The system is broken and it needs to be fixed in several different forms’
Nova Scotia’s entire equalization system needs to be revisited, Cecil Clarke says.
Recent weeks have seen several large protests led by a group called Nova Scotians for Equalization Fairness against the current distribution of equalization funds within the province, with many people contending that Cape Breton is being significantly shortchanged. They have called for an audit of the current system and for the province to immediately revisit how it distributes the funds.
Clarke, in addition to being mayor of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality, is running to be leader of the province’s Progressive Conservative party. When asked this week his views on equalization he said he believes there are two components to the discussion — CBRM is talking about the proper financial arrangement to function and be viable while at the same time there’s a broader question of equalization to support social programming such as health and how that is being delivered, directly or indirectly.
“The municipality ... needs the fiscal element and it’s not just CBRM but all municipalities,” Clarke said.
Other issues, including the capped assessment program and tax rates, also play into the discussion, he said.
Whether the municipalities are getting their proper shares of transfers for health and social programming has to be determined,
Clarke said. The fiscal relationship between the CBRM and the province also needs to be fixed, he said.
“The system is broken and it needs to be fixed in several different forms,” he said. “Are the people of our region receiving fair access to services that should be available to any other Nova Scotian?”
He said he does believe the CBRM is being shortchanged and other municipalities are also struggling and it’s not a standalone issue for this region.
“It’s just more acute here because we have already amalgamated, there is no other regionalization that can be done,” Clarke said.
When he was in Cape Breton in March as part of his leadership bid, Tim Houston, the sitting Progressive Conservative MLA for Pictou East, told the Cape Breton Post said that equalization is one issue that has surprised him since he was first elected.
“It has surprised me that the amount of equalization paid out hasn’t changed,” he said at the time. “It’s an area that we definitely need to make sure the deal is fair with municipalities. I don’t know that it’s fair enough, at the moment. You look at the equalization payments that come in to the provincial coffers and how they’re distributed out, it’s definitely time to look at doing a better job and being more fair with how it’s distributed.”