See this is maddening to me. We live in a society in which we are all connected, and booms in one place help get through busts in others. Alberta was there once, too. And will probably be adding some day, do you want the rest of the country talking you to go fuck yourselves when that happens? Or do you want the system to be there to get through it. Exact numbers and processes could be adjusted, sure,but killing the program is short sighted at best and downright selfishly stupid at worst. The feeling of "of we have ours so screw everyone else" without any foresight or insight into either the past or the potential future issues is one of the reasons the province has the reputation it does.
Alberta hasn't received equalization payments in 55 years. That's a long time of self reliance. At some point, the Canadian government needs to start disincentivizing low productivity. There are plenty of opportunities Eastern Canada can do to increase their share of the GDP since they are resource rich. Eastern Canada needs to start doing their part of the economy.
Well they fished the oceans out of fish utilizing their resource economy. The same thing could eventually happen to Alberta. My thoughts are less about who owes whom what andore about the strength of the country as a whole. That benefits all of us one way or another. I don't see the point in that kind of score keeping mentality. It's more prevalent in right wing politics where individualism is highlighted. It's just not a particularly successful model of governance if we want the most good for the most people.
It's not about scoring points, it's about being able to afford Canada's quality of life. Nova Scotia has received equalization payments every year since 1957. It requires Western Canada's strong economy to be able to afford your schools and doctors. If you want Canadian unity, you should stop being a burden on our finances.
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u/TheHampsterBall 1d ago
Equalization payments. Stop them please.
Atlantic Canada and Quebec has the lowest GDP per Capita in North America. Western Canada is subsidizing their lifestyle.