Equalization meeting ends before it starts.
Equalization fairness group, local MP can’t agree on meeting parameters
SYDNEY, N.S. — Conflicting policies appear to have derailed a planned meeting between the Nova Scotians for Equalization Fairness group and high-ranking members of the federal government.
The virtual Zoom meeting was to have been held Thursday between four members of the NSEF, Cape Breton Canso MP Mike Kelloway and staff from the offices of Justice Minister David Lametti and Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Mininster Chrystia Freeland.
But a meeting involving all parties did not happen.
According to the NSEF’s Russ Green, the group has a policy that all of its meetings with politicians be recorded for the sake of transparency and accountability, while Kelloway’s policy is to not record meetings with constituents and stakeholders in order to facilitate open and candid discussions.
And with neither side willing to bend, the meeting about the group’s concerns over the Nova Scotia government’s distribution of the annual equalization transfer payment ($2.146 billion for the 2020-2021 fiscal year) it receives from Ottawa ended before it began.
“For more than 20 years we have been meeting with politicians who won’t go on record about equalization and it’s just ludicrous for us to continue that — we can’t talk to politicians behind closed doors, we just can’t do that,” said Green.
“About a year and a half ago our board took a serious stance on this issue. So if a politician won’t meet on record then we have no interest in talking with them. They’ll talk about anything else on record but they will not go on record about equalization. They know they can’t refute what we’re saying so I guess the higherups told them that they can’t be on record.
“Transparency is the issue, it is the fix-all with this issue — the province is not being transparent with the money and how it’s spent."
For his part, Kelloway said he stands by his approach of collaboration and in bringing people together to find solutions.
“The NSEF has a policy for recording all meetings with politicians and I respect that stance — that being said, in my office, I have my own policy where I do not record meetings,” Kelloway said in a written response to a Cape Breton Post request to explain his policy.
“I made this decision because, in the spirit of transparency, my meetings with constituents and stakeholders are based on candid conversation and I want everyone I meet with to feel comfortable to ask questions and have open discussions without fear of how a question or discussion can be taken out of context.”
Green maintains the NSEF has no issue with Kelloway and lauded the first-term MP for his efforts up to now in both communicating with the group and for bringing the issue to the attention of the federal departments of finance and justice.
“This is not a personal attack on Mike Kelloway in any way, shape or form,” he said.
“Mike Kelloway has responded to us, he answers our emails, he comes out of his building to talk to us, but meanwhile (Sydney-Victoria MP) Jaime Battiste is ignoring us, he won’t return a call, won’t return an email, he is just ignoring us 100 per cent while Mike is taking all the pressure on this.”
NSEF board member Charles Sampson also acknowledged Kelloway’s efforts, but added that the group is still looking for some legitimate dialogue with both the federal and provincial governments.
“We asked (former Cape Breton Canso MP) Rodger Cuzner about it and he told us point-blank that the federal government is not going to touch this issue,” said Sampson.
“I think it is coming down from Ottawa and it doesn’t look like anybody there is going to touch it. They just ignore people and there is no accountability or transparency.”
Kelloway begged to differ and expressed his opinion that the meeting could have been a productive discussion on the issue.
“I am truly disappointed that after having worked over the past year to get to this point, that to my understanding has not happened before, the NSEF has decided to publicly criticize what I have been able to pull together before even having one meeting,” stated Kelloway.
“I have offered the NSEF to have four members attend the meeting, of their choice of course, and they obviously are able to discuss the meeting how they find it appropriate after it takes place. However, I stand firm in my decision to not record any stakeholder meetings I have in my office to be made public.”
In the meantime, the NSEF has dispatched a number questions and suggestions to Kelloway to pass onto the decision-makers in the relevant federal ministerial offices.
The group, whose public face is Rev. Albert Maroun, has long argued that the Cape Breton Regional Municipality is being shortchanged by the province when it comes to equalization transfer payment distribution.
The NSEF claims that the complex funding formula calls for 23.1 per cent of the annual transfer be used to help offset municipal deficiencies. That means in-need Nova Scotia municipalities would receive an estimated $495 million annually as opposed to the $30.5 million grant they presently get from the province. The CBRM receives roughly half of that sum.
Five Canadian provinces presently receive equalization payments from the federal government. The figures for 2020-2021 show Québec is by far the greatest beneficiary with a payment of $13.25 billion. The others are Manitoba ($2.51 billion), Nova Scotia ($2.15 billion), New Brunswick ($2.21 billion) and Prince Edward Island ($454 million).