Here Comes The Rain Again

However cynical I am about politics is about to change dramatically. The tides have turned and I ...

An episode of the The Phil Blog podcast, hosted by Phillip Hong, titled "Here Comes The Rain Again" was published on May 25, 2006 and runs 2 minutes.

May 25, 2006 ·2m · The Phil Blog

Summary

However cynical I am about politics is about to change dramatically. The tides have turned and I am as cynical as ever. Alberta Premier Ralph Klein recently announced that he would be seeking legal advice in regards to withdrawing from the federal equalisation plan. The province has recently reaped some great benefits due to the upward price of crude oil, stimulating its economy. So what is equalisation? In Canada's ten provinces, there are those provinces that have a well-developed economy, and are called "have provinces". Other provinces, who can't provide the same government services on their own are called "have not" provinces. They simply couldn't afford it. The federal government a few years back came out with a plan with much fanfare that tries to lessen this gap from the have and the have not provinces by asking for money to suppliment that budget of have-nots. This is done by contribution from the have provinces. This helps create a uniform way of providing government services. In Ontario, provincial politicians are raising a little hell about this issue. Allegations flew about Ontarians not getting their fair share of money in, money out. A few billion dollars, perhaps. But the subways are deteriorating, schools are poorly maintained and built and the health care system is almost in critical mode. What to do? In my tiny opinion, this equalisation scheme should be cancelled. I could care less whether we need to "equalise" government services. This is just the federal government's way of saying "we're too lazy to develop our country". Yeah yeah, call me a redneck, but Ontario deserves its own tax money.

Episode Description

However cynical I am about politics is about to change dramatically. The tides have turned and I am as cynical as ever. Alberta Premier Ralph Klein recently announced that he would be seeking legal advice in regards to withdrawing from the federal equalisation plan. The province has recently reaped some great benefits due to the upward price of crude oil, stimulating its economy. So what is equalisation? In Canada's ten provinces, there are those provinces that have a well-developed economy, and are called "have provinces". Other provinces, who can't provide the same government services on their own are called "have not" provinces. They simply couldn't afford it. The federal government a few years back came out with a plan with much fanfare that tries to lessen this gap from the have and the have not provinces by asking for money to suppliment that budget of have-nots. This is done by contribution from the have provinces. This helps create a uniform way of providing government services. In Ontario, provincial politicians are raising a little hell about this issue. Allegations flew about Ontarians not getting their fair share of money in, money out. A few billion dollars, perhaps. But the subways are deteriorating, schools are poorly maintained and built and the health care system is almost in critical mode. What to do? In my tiny opinion, this equalisation scheme should be cancelled. I could care less whether we need to "equalise" government services. This is just the federal government's way of saying "we're too lazy to develop our country". Yeah yeah, call me a redneck, but Ontario deserves its own tax money.