Quote:
Originally Posted by MarchHare
That's not how Equalization works. No province gives money to any other province. The federal government, which collects tax revenue from all the provinces, transfers money each year to the provincial governments of the have not provinces.
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Same semantic argument every time it is brought up.
If we pay higher taxes per capita, in theory we should be receiving a higher level of service than the have-not provinces.
The fact that it comes out of Albertan's federal income taxes and goes directly into Quebec's coffers is doesn't change the fact that it's coming from Alberta.
Put it another way. If the formula is instead "provinces get whatever they pay into the equalization pool back" (ie. no equalization), Alberta would get more money than the current scheme.
Of course, we are a united country, and I believe in helping "have-not" provinces, but I don't agree that some provinces, like Quebec, get a higher level of service than Alberta/Ontario (ie. $2500 a semester tuition rather than $9000). Other places, like the Maritimes, need the equalization to get to a "Canadian" level, and that's fine, but it's time that the formula gets revisited, and things like hydro or other exports get added to it.