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This plan would mean that Alberta would no longer have to pay equalization payments because all of their revenues are from oil. All equalization payments would now be funded by Ontario manufacturing and service industries.
Harper rolls out Atlantic revitalization plan
By DARREN YOURK
Globe and Mail Update
Searching for support in a region he once accused of having a “culture of defeat,†Conservative leadership candidate Stephen Harper unveiled his economic revitalization plan for Atlantic Canada at a campaign stop in Halifax.
Topping the six-part strategy paper, titled Harnessing the Potential, is the removal non-renewable resources (such as off-shore oil and gas revenue) from the equalization-payment equation, ensuring that Atlantic Canada avoids a clawback in federal funding and has greater access to revenues.
Under the existing scheme, Ottawa gives poorer provinces money to help them provide a national standard of government services. Ottawa currently reduces equalization payments to Newfoundland and Nova Scotia by more than 70 per cent of offshore revenues.
“Non-renewable resources are one of the most promising avenues for real growth in Atlantic Canada,†the plan reads. “Developing these resources provides a critical short term investment for longer term growth. When the federal government taxes these revenues away dollar for dollar, however, they jeopardize the opportunity to establish longer term growth.â€
Mr. Harper also says he would boost military spending by $1.2-billion more than the Liberals announced in the 2003 budget, bringing the increase to $2-billion a year.
Over the longer term, Mr. Harper said, he will bring Canadian military spending, as a percentage of GDP, into line with the NATO average.
“Atlantic Canada plays a large role both in procurement — particularly for our navy — and in being an important location for our remaining bases,†the plan reads. “A strong commitment to rebuilding our national defence will therefore provide a needed boost, both in the short and longer term, to the Atlantic Canada economy.â€
The plan commits Mr. Harper to entering an agreement with the Atlantic provinces to give them between 3 to 5 cents per litre of the gas tax, conditional on the new money's being directed toward infrastructure.
“Paul Martin has been crossing the country using the rhetoric of the 'New Deal for Cities,'†yet behind the rhetoric has been consistent waffling and flip-flopping on what this new deal means for our infrastructure deficit,†the plan reads.
“Further, rural Canada has been left out of the entire debate on a 'New Deal for Cities.' For the past 10 years, the Liberal government has neglected rural Canada in virtually every major federal policy decision.â€
The paper includes Atlantic Canada in Mr. Harper's plan to eliminate corporate subsidies in all regions of the country and redirect the money to lower taxes.
If elected, he said, he would consult with Atlantic Canadians on whether the best approach would be to lower the general corporate tax rate or introduce a broad tax credit for capital investment.
The former Canadian Alliance leader also proposes “a new partnership†between the federal government and Atlantic Canada, centred on negotiating agreements with provincial governments for co-management of the fisheries.
“To be sure, the federal government has a significant role to play in terms of providing the scientific evidence for policy makers,†the plan reads. “However, as the consequences of fishery policy decisions rest most heavily on the communities involved, they, through the provincial government, should have a critical voice in key resource allocation decisions.â€
Mr. Harper caused a controversy in May, 2002, when he was quoted in a New Brunswick newspaper saying Atlantic Canada had a defeatist outlook generated by a dependence on federal aid.
"These things feed on each other," Mr. Harper said at the time. "Atlantic Canada's culture of defeat will be hard to overcome as long as Atlantic Canada is actually physically trailing the rest of the country. When that starts to change, the culture will start to change too."
Atlantic premiers were furious over the remarks, and the Nova Scotia Legislature took the rare step of condemning Mr. Harper.
Mr. Harper's leadership rivals, Belinda Stronach and Tony Clement, are also campaigning in Nova Scotia Friday, where the provincial Tory party is holding its annual meeting in Halifax.
© 2004 Bell Globemedia Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Harper rolls out Atlantic revitalization plan
By DARREN YOURK
Globe and Mail Update
Searching for support in a region he once accused of having a “culture of defeat,†Conservative leadership candidate Stephen Harper unveiled his economic revitalization plan for Atlantic Canada at a campaign stop in Halifax.
Topping the six-part strategy paper, titled Harnessing the Potential, is the removal non-renewable resources (such as off-shore oil and gas revenue) from the equalization-payment equation, ensuring that Atlantic Canada avoids a clawback in federal funding and has greater access to revenues.
Under the existing scheme, Ottawa gives poorer provinces money to help them provide a national standard of government services. Ottawa currently reduces equalization payments to Newfoundland and Nova Scotia by more than 70 per cent of offshore revenues.
“Non-renewable resources are one of the most promising avenues for real growth in Atlantic Canada,†the plan reads. “Developing these resources provides a critical short term investment for longer term growth. When the federal government taxes these revenues away dollar for dollar, however, they jeopardize the opportunity to establish longer term growth.â€
Mr. Harper also says he would boost military spending by $1.2-billion more than the Liberals announced in the 2003 budget, bringing the increase to $2-billion a year.
Over the longer term, Mr. Harper said, he will bring Canadian military spending, as a percentage of GDP, into line with the NATO average.
“Atlantic Canada plays a large role both in procurement — particularly for our navy — and in being an important location for our remaining bases,†the plan reads. “A strong commitment to rebuilding our national defence will therefore provide a needed boost, both in the short and longer term, to the Atlantic Canada economy.â€
The plan commits Mr. Harper to entering an agreement with the Atlantic provinces to give them between 3 to 5 cents per litre of the gas tax, conditional on the new money's being directed toward infrastructure.
“Paul Martin has been crossing the country using the rhetoric of the 'New Deal for Cities,'†yet behind the rhetoric has been consistent waffling and flip-flopping on what this new deal means for our infrastructure deficit,†the plan reads.
“Further, rural Canada has been left out of the entire debate on a 'New Deal for Cities.' For the past 10 years, the Liberal government has neglected rural Canada in virtually every major federal policy decision.â€
The paper includes Atlantic Canada in Mr. Harper's plan to eliminate corporate subsidies in all regions of the country and redirect the money to lower taxes.
If elected, he said, he would consult with Atlantic Canadians on whether the best approach would be to lower the general corporate tax rate or introduce a broad tax credit for capital investment.
The former Canadian Alliance leader also proposes “a new partnership†between the federal government and Atlantic Canada, centred on negotiating agreements with provincial governments for co-management of the fisheries.
“To be sure, the federal government has a significant role to play in terms of providing the scientific evidence for policy makers,†the plan reads. “However, as the consequences of fishery policy decisions rest most heavily on the communities involved, they, through the provincial government, should have a critical voice in key resource allocation decisions.â€
Mr. Harper caused a controversy in May, 2002, when he was quoted in a New Brunswick newspaper saying Atlantic Canada had a defeatist outlook generated by a dependence on federal aid.
"These things feed on each other," Mr. Harper said at the time. "Atlantic Canada's culture of defeat will be hard to overcome as long as Atlantic Canada is actually physically trailing the rest of the country. When that starts to change, the culture will start to change too."
Atlantic premiers were furious over the remarks, and the Nova Scotia Legislature took the rare step of condemning Mr. Harper.
Mr. Harper's leadership rivals, Belinda Stronach and Tony Clement, are also campaigning in Nova Scotia Friday, where the provincial Tory party is holding its annual meeting in Halifax.
© 2004 Bell Globemedia Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved.