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Originally posted by MarchHare@Sep 2 2005, 11:02 PM
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I have consistantly referred to the federal transfer program as our "national welfare system."
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And you would be consistantly wrong. Equalization is nothing at all like welfare. It's not a method to help less fortunate provinces get on their feet and reach the same levels of wealth as richer provinces. It only exists to make sure the citizens of poorer provinces receive relatively equal levels of quality in government services like healthcare and education.
Would you prefer to live in a Canada without Equalization, where Alberta and Ontario could afford to provide their citizens with the best healthcare money can buy but citizens of the Atlantic Provinces would have third-world healthcare or no healthcare at all?
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True, though I should clarify that I generally mean far more than the federal transfer system when I am referring to "national welfare system." That was a poorly worded post.
According to the
government, $10.9 billion will be transferred to the eight "have nots" as part of the transfer system from Alberta and Ontario this year.
Ontario complains that it receives $23 billion less in federal spending than it gives. Alberta says their number is $9.3 billion.
Combined, the two provinces give over $32 billion to the rest of Canada that they do not get back. $21 billion of that is outside of the transfer system.
When I talk about the national welfare system, I am including that figure. That money is going somewhere, and it isnt Alberta or Ontario.