Whom should we blame when leaders lie to us? We have just experienced another public bonfire where taxpayer dollars were set ablaze because a provincial premier, for purely selfish political reasons, fanned the flames of separatism. This is a form of collective insanity.
There are manifold reasons why separatists in this country believe that their provinces would be better off outside of Confederation. Both are based on lies. The simple one is the belief that if a simple majority of people in a province vote to withdraw from Confederation, that the province can simply leave. Not true. Read the Clarity Act. The federal government and other provinces have no obligation whatever to deal with a province that has voted to separate. This doesn’t even begin to address the lawful rights of Indigenous Peoples, who in several provinces actually own huge swaths of the province.
The more complicated reason mentioned above is the issue of equalization, whereby the federal government distributes federal money to each province based on a formula so that the quality of life in one province can approximate the quality of life in any other province.
This is a hot button issue in two provinces with significant separatist sub-cultures. And in both provinces (Quebec and Alberta) the majority of people with such separatist beliefs are founded upon fundamental lies. In broad generic terms, separatist Albertans believe that their province writes an annual cheque and that it goes to Quebec. That is a lie. Many Quebecers believe that they pay more into equalization than they get back. That is also a lie.
Let’s step back and look at how equalization actually works. The source for my data is mostly stated below. First, fundamentally, where does the money come from? Income tax. The federal money collected in income tax goes into the general revenue account. The equalization fund ($25.3B in 2024–25). Of that, Quebec got $13.3B (52.7% of total pool) or — MORE IMPORTANTLY — $1,580/person. Who gets the LEAST? Alberta, BC, and Saskatchewan. They get nothing. Who gets the MOST? PEI, with $3,718/person. Really? How can that be? POPULATION. Quebec has a huge population so although they get over 50% of the money, it is spread much thinner than it is anywhere in the Maritimes. So, Alberta doesn’t pay Quebec. Like all other provinces Albertans pay federal income tax, and the feds look at the pot, use a formula and then distribute the money. So why do Alberta, BC, and Saskatchewan pay in and get nothing back? Because their citizens are wealthier and younger than the other provinces’ citizens.
Now the second lie. No, Quebec does not pay more into equalization than it gets back. First, NO province pays “into equalization.” All provinces remit federal income tax collected to the federal treasury and yes, Alberta pays more. This is not rocket science. If you make more, you pay more in federal income tax. So, are Albertans angry because they are wealthier than the rest of us? Of course not; it is the people who have lied to them that are causing the problems. Solution? STOP believing the lies.
Let me close off with a comment on the equalization calculations. There are legitimate frustrations with the federal equalization parameters but let’s be honest. No matter how the equalization calculations are worked out, amended, or modified, someone will cry foul. It is the nature of our democracy. The bottom line is quite simple: the pool of money is only so large. The premiers can argue endlessly about who deserves how much of the pie but fundamentally, it is common sense that if you live in a province that is wealthy and does not need federal dollars (from your fellow Canadians) to keep your economy afloat, then that is a GOOD thing.
So, let’s agree that everyone has a legitimate concern about some aspect of how equalization and the Confederation in general works. But let’s also agree that what we are discussing are “first world problems” and that the best way to solve them is to stop believing the lies.
SOURCES
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarity_Act
Canada’s Equalization Formula, available at https://lop.parl.ca/sites/PublicWebsite/default/en_CA/ResearchPublications/200820E
Net fiscal contributions by province Statistics Canada Table 36-10-0450-01, available at https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=3610045001
Are politicians leaders? In my view, some are, but some are not. I guess it depends on one’s definition of a leader and/or leadership. In my military career, I met many leaders that I would charitably describe as politicians. Many achieved much higher rank than me, but to me that didn’t matter. All of us who attended the CMCs learned about TDV. Not everyone practised it.
That, to my simple mind, is the difference between a leader and a politician – in any walk of life.
Rory
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Rory, I would only remind you that two things can be true at the same time. A politician can be a leader (or not) and a military leader can be a politition (or not) and in all permutations, none of them needs NECESSARILY to be negative.
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