Wall concerned transfer payments could rest on carbon tax
Premier Brad Wall is criticizing any attempt by Ottawa to link federal transfer payments with signing on to liberal policies.
Blacklock’s Reporter, an online news source, obtained a heavily redacted memo from the federal finance ministry which suggests that any future equalization deals could rest on whether the provinces sign on to the proposed carbon tax.
“Should equalization payments be tied to some provinces support of a specific federal liberal policy, that kind of discussion shouldn’t even be happening, never mind in the senior levels of the department of finance,” Wall told reporters at the Legislature Monday.
The premier has written a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau seeking clarification, suggesting that if these discussions are taking place it would not only damage federal-provincial relationships but “be a serious violation of the principles of fiscal federalism.”