Released on March 28, 2007
Government Relations Minister Harry Van Mulligen expressed disappointment that all 12 Conservative Members of Parliament (MPs) from this province voted to pass a federal budget, which breaks their Equalization promise to Saskatchewan.
Consequently, Van Mulligen is calling on the Saskatchewan Conservative MPs to now demonstrate their loyalty to this province by throwing their support behind the provincial government’s efforts to negotiate an Energy Accord, similar to those in place in Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia.
Prior to forming government, the Conservatives repeatedly promised full exclusion of non-renewable resource revenues from Equalization, a deal that would have benefited the people of Saskatchewan by approximately $800 million per year.
However, the passage of the federal budget yesterday brings into effect a new Equalization formula with a cap that effectively claws back Saskatchewan’s non-renewable resource revenues. The cap was never a part of the Conservatives’ election platform, and the Prime Minister publicly stated that no such cap would be part of changes to the Equalization formula. Instead of giving the province $800 million every year going forward, the cap reduces the benefits to a one-time payment of $226 million this year, falling to zero next year and beyond.
“By voting in favour of this budget, Saskatchewan Conservative MPs have signalled their approval of the continued federal confiscation of Saskatchewan’s non-renewable resource revenues,” Van Mulligen said. “They have betrayed the people of Saskatchewan and put partisan politics before principle.”
The people of this province would benefit from keeping Saskatchewan non-renewable resource revenue in Saskatchewan because it would help the province grow its economy, improve its infrastructure, lower taxes even further and help build Saskatchewan into a permanent “have” province.
Van Mulligen also disputed claims by Conservative MPs that this year’s federal budget represents “the best deal Saskatchewan has ever had.”
“The MPs point to a number of federal investments – many of which are one-time in nature – apparently in an effort to tell the people of Saskatchewan that they should be happy with what they have,” he said. “But the people of Saskatchewan will not be fooled. They know the federal government has failed to deliver permanent changes to Equalization that provide long-term benefits to Saskatchewan, and allow the province to use the benefits of its non-renewable resource revenues to build for the future, as other provinces have done.”
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For more information, contact:
Tyler McMurchy
Government Relations
Regina
Phone: 306-787-5193
Email: tyler.mcmurchy@gov.sk.ca
Cell: 306-537-7051