A new grassroots organization is taking on the fight to have Alberta get a better deal under the federal Fiscalization Stabilization Program..Fairness Alberta says the province has been shortchanged billions of dollars under the program..“Fairness Alberta has repeatedly called for the removal of this $170 Fiscal Stabilization cap,” says its executive director, Dr. Bill Bewick..“The federal government missed a golden opportunity to recognize that Alberta has had Canada’s back for the last 20 years, so hopefully they take this opportunity to make up for it partially.”.At the height of the energy boom in 2014, Alberta contributed 18.8 percent of GDP despite only 11.6 percent of its population..However, between fiscal years 2014-15 and 2016-17, resource revenues declined by $5.9 billion, and non-resource revenues declined by an additional $3.3 billion..During the initial collapse in global oil prices, revenues declined substantially with little help to the province from the federal government..Despite the budding economic hardship felt heavily across the province, former Finance Minister Bill Morneau introduced a five-year extension to the previous Equalization regime in February 2018, extending from April 1, 2019, until 2024..Receiving Royal Assent in June 2018, the federal government will gradually increase Equalization payments to neighbouring provinces from $17.9 billion in 2017-2018 to $22.1 billion by 2022-2023..“Albertans have been ‘stabilizing’ federal revenues at an average rate of $5,000 per person every year, but all we can get back is $170 per person in our time of need,” says Bewick..“Stabilization only applies when a province faces a big drop in revenues. Lifting the cap is reasonable,” he said..“It is clear that fiscal flows are broken.”.“Overall, between 2015-16 and 2016-17, total Stabilization payments to Alberta were $2.25 billion lower than they otherwise would have been,” says Bewick..As a recommendation by the Fair Deal Panel, Albertans called for a referendum on Equalization and removed constraints to the Fiscal Stabilization Program..Calgary-Shepard MP Tom Kmiec heard from his constituents in 2019 that Equalization was inherently unfair to Albertans. Specifically the Fiscal Stabilization fund per capita cap removal..That’s one of the reason he proposed Bill C-263 in the House of Commons this week to revamp the program..“My proposal complements this year’s referendum, and much of the content was agreed to by all premiers at a previous Council of the Federation meeting,” says Kmiec..“We are working on sending a letter to each recognized federal party to ask for their support.”.Dhaliwal is an Edmonton-based freelance reporter
