The Big Reset not all it could be

The discussion around Dame Moya Greene’s big reset report has focused primarily on two things — slashing services and raising taxes.

That kind of focus is problematic because it all but ignores the biggest single problem that has plagued our provincial economy since confederation — our relationship with Ottawa.

There is reference to the need to address our federal provincial relationship that takes up all of five sentences in the report on page 246. That is simply not enough. What does “continue to explore” really mean? There needs to be context to show the relevance of this issue and how it has compounded the deteriorating provincial fiscal situation particularly in recent years.

There is also no reference in the report to the federal commitment under the constitution to ensure that similar levels of service are available to all Canadian citizens throughout the country.

FEDERAL DEAL

I’m not suggesting we should have a better deal than other provinces, just equal treatment. Evidence abounds that is not the case. For example, our interprovincial transportation infrastructure is unreliable, the costliest in the country, and the cost keeps increasing annually. This is a mandated service guaranteed under the terms of union. It is incumbent on the government of Canada to provide it at a reasonable cost.

One could argue the gulf ferry service is an extension of the Trans Canada Highway and should cost travellers approximately the same per kilometre to transit as would be the case for a highway of the same length.

Resolution of that problem would drive big cost improvements to just about everything we consume and drive major growth in other areas of our provincial economy such as tourism. Another example is our fishing industry.

Canada took control of the fish resources off our shores in 1949 when we joined confederation. At that time, those resources were plentiful and supported tens of thousands of our citizens throughout our coastal communities.

Under Ottawa’s control those resources have been mismanaged to the point where quotas for many species are insufficient and those communities are in rapid decline because the resource has been decimated to levels that can only support a few wellresourced remaining fishers.

Despite that, the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans still finds it reasonable to allocate the fish resources we brought into the confederation to interest outside of the province whenever they see fit and have put little to no effort into stock rebuilding.

HIGH PER CAPITA COSTS

Our small population dispersed over our huge geographic area, means that the per capita cost to provide services to our communities is higher than in other provinces. That will always be the case if we are to provide anything even close to comparable levels of service to our citizens as in the rest of the country. Why the report didn’t focus more on this is beyond me.

The solution, it would appear, is to adjust the funding transfer programs, including equalization, to account for that fact.

Simple and obvious as it sounds, this has not been done. However, it is essential that it be done if we are not to slip further behind our neighbouring provinces than we already are.

Our intra-provincial transportation and services infrastructure is inadequate to our needs and woefully behind that of our neighbouring provinces. The challenge of addressing this problem is now squarely in the lap of our newly elected government.

SELL OFFS?

The report also recommends selling off anything that makes money. I would suggest that any asset that is a positive net generator of revenue for the province and can be shown to do so for the foreseeable future, be carefully looked at before any decision to sell is taken.

One can only assume the concept is that private business owners/operators could find cost efficiencies and therefore pass through higher after-profit returns to the Crown.

There are other examples where our relationship with Ottawa is costing us dearly, not the least of which is denial of the opportunity to transport our power across provincial boundaries.

Due to space limitations here, that will have to be a matter for another day.

Suffice it to say we must have a better deal with our federal government and our other provincial partners if we are ever to have a stable sustainable provincial economy.

Slashing costs and raising taxes will help restore financial stability for a period, but at what cost to our citizens, economic growth, and development?

Implementing the report recommendations, without a fairer deal with our confederation partners, will result in service reductions; and we can forget ever achieving the same standard of living enjoyed throughout the rest of Canada.

The time to “explore” is long past. We need a big relationship reset and we need it now.