Quote:
Originally Posted by Fuzz
Ah yes, one of Smith's most exemplified virtues. Sharing.
|
I don't think it matter if Smith wants to share or not. Or who is in power and how much the party in power wants to share. Equalization and fiscal federalism are a foundation of Canadian Confederation. In other words there will always be sharing of Alberta's oil sands revenue because it allows Alberta to provide a higher level of public services and public services should be comparable between the provinces. Ie all Canadians are entitled to reasonably similar (or a minimum standard) of healthcare, education, etc.
That effectively makes the oil sands a Canadian resource as much as an Alberta one. Like it not, facts are facts. So pipelines too benefit all Canadians by allowing for more production. That narrative needs to be amplified because continued development of the oil sands (which could be doubled in terms of daily production) would result in a meaningful improvement in public services across the country without needing to increase personal or corporate income tax to pay for it.
I'm dont work in oil and gas (nor am I invested in it), but I genuinely appreciate what a gift the oil sands are, allowing us a substantially higher level of public services relative to the taxes we pay. I think we'd all be better off as Canadians if that was more widely appreciated. There's a reason why Saudis, Norwegians, Emeratis, Kruwatis, etc have a consensus to maximize oil and gas production. It's because the citizens can clearly sees how much they benefit from it.