N.S. Tories face tough choice in Friday budget
Last Updated: Friday, March 23, 2007 | 8:35 AM ET
CBC News
Will Nova Scotia Premier Rodney MacDonald accept a new equalization plan offered by the federal government in its budget on Monday, or will he stick with the old one?
That's the big question that will be answered when the provincial budget is tabled Friday afternoon.
"They've asked us essentially in making that choice to roll the dice, and that to me is not what the equalization formula is about," MacDonald said earlier this week.
The federal budget allows Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador to share in an enhanced equalization program only if they agree to opt out of the Atlantic Accord signed by the previous federal government in 2005, a deal that has allowed the two provinces to keep the profits from offshore oil.
MacDonald has hinted he doesn't want to turn down the federal government's offer of an extra $80 million in transfer payments, which the Nova Scotia finance department has calculated could ultimately be worth as much as $157 million in program funding.
Liberal finance critic Diana Whalen said MacDonald's rush to choose a new formula now will hurt the province's efforts to lobby for a better deal later.
"I don't think anything is irrevocable, but it will make it harder for us to make a strong case in Ottawa once we've tabled a budget that accepts what they've done."
Federal transfer payments aside, the Tories also promised to spend $117 million more on new initiatives this year.
NDP Leader Darrell Dexter won't even hazard a guess about which of those promises the Conservatives will keep.
"This government has been so erratic with respect to many of these things. They seem to have a 12 o'clock position. Then they have a six o'clock position. So most of us don't know, you know, what to expect."
