The federal Liberal government is about to renew Canada's deeply unfair equalization program for yet another five years. I’ll explain exactly what that means in a second, but first, some history from the last time this happened….In 2018, the federal Liberal government took the unprecedented step of renewing the equalization formula for five years (2019-2024) without even discussing the issue with the provinces..In fact, almost no one noticed they had done it until it was too late..You see, before the equalization formula is set to be renewed, the federal government would normally conduct an extensive consultation where provinces get input into what the system will look like for the coming years..Provinces don't always get their way, of course, but they at least get a say!.In 2018 though, the federal Liberals threw this convention in the garbage and just unilaterally announced a five-year extension a year before the expiry date — before consultation could even get underway..Scott Moe had only become Premier of Saskatchewan just a few months prior, but his government was pretty much the only one to notice. The Saskatchewan government suggested keeping the existing formula for 50% of the equalization program, but converting the other half of the program into a straight per-capita distribution of money, equally by population to every province..A half-solution (literally), to be sure, but significantly better than the straight renewal of the existing unfair formula that the Liberal government pushed through, and infinitely better than what the Alberta NDP government did..The Alberta NDP government did nothing..They didn't bother reading the federal government's plan, they had no recommendations, and they didn't suggest any changes..Why didn't they do anything?.They literally didn't even know it was happening until they were asked about it by the media — after it had already happened. Naturally, a couple of years later, the message from Alberta was very different..Sick of being mistreated by Ottawa, 62% of Albertans voted in favour of abolishing equalization from the Constitution entirely..The purpose of the referendum, as we outlined back then, was to trigger constitutional negotiations..The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that when a province holds a referendum (on any issue, not just on separation) and that referendum achieves a clear majority on a clear question, the federal government and the provinces must come to the table to discuss terms..Alberta’s equalization referendum was a clear constitutional question and passed with a clear majority..But the federal government ignored it..Now, they're going one step further than ignoring Alberta..Now, they're going to try and screw us all over again..Once again, the federal government is planning to renew the equalization formula for another five years. And once again, they're doing so earlier than required, and they're trying to sneak it through without anyone noticing..In a blatant attempt to avoid any serious discussions about the inequality inherent in the formula, they're burying the extension in the middle of a 400-page omnibus budget motion..They were also clearly hoping that by pushing it through right in the middle of the Alberta election, we would all, once again, be too busy to notice..Well, Mr. Prime Minister, there's one big difference between 2018 and 2023….In 2018, Project Confederation didn't exist..In 2023, we do..And we noticed..And we don't intend to let you get away with it this time. We can't afford to let the federal liberals get away with it this time..We need to fight back. And if you care about the future of Western Canada, we need your help to do so..Please sign up to our new End Equalization campaign here.
