A former NDP finance minister has criticized New Democrat Saskatchewan Premier Lorne Calvert over his response to changes in Ottawa's equalization program.

Calvert called the equalization changes announced Monday by federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty a "broken promise."

He said they are bad for Saskatchewan because there's a cap on the extent to which non-renewable resources like oil and gas are excluded from the formula. Calvert also said he'll be looking for a separate deal with Ottawa.

But Janice MacKinnon, the longtime finance minister in then NDP Premier Roy Romanow's cabinet, immediately condemned Calvert's reaction.

In an interview with CBC News, MacKinnon said the cap is based on a "basic, commonplace principle." Without it, a province like Saskatchewan could conceivably receive equalization payments and end up with more fiscal capacity than a province like Ontario that contributes to equalization.

It was the prospect of a side deal that MacKinnon called "particularly disturbing.

"What Premier Calvert just said was he wants to take us back down the road that got us into this mess. That is, he wants a special deal for Saskatchewan outside the equalization formula," she said.

"That's how we started this, the special deal for Newfoundland and Nova Scotia outside the formula."

During the last election campaign, the Conservatives promised in Saskatchewan to take non-renewable resource revenue like oil and gas out of the calculations, and change from a five-province standard to a 10-province standard.

Those changes would result in an extra $800 million a year for the provincial coffers, the Saskatchewan government said.

'Betrayal of a promise': Calvert

The plan introduced Monday — allowing provinces to choose an equalization option that suits their individual needs — falls far short of the promise, Calvert said.

Even if Saskatchewan chooses an equalization option that takes 100 per cent of non-renewable resources like oil and gas out of the formula, the cap eliminates the benefit, Calvert said.

"This is clearly a promise broken," Calvert said. "It's clearly a betrayal of a promise that was made not to the government of Saskatchewan but to the people of Saskatchewan. "

As a result of taking the 100 per cent option, Saskatchewan would receive $220 million this year, but all of its equalization payments would be "clawed back" next year, Calvert said.

Calvert said he will now focus his efforts on getting a side deal — a Saskatchewan accord — similar to the Atlantic Accord that Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia received from the Liberals when they were in government.
Such a deal would give Saskatchewan at least a few years of protection from equalization "clawbacks," Calvert said.