When is enough enough ???

[farmaholic]

......"where the dead weight thrives off the backs of the hard working"......and the RISK TAKERS

[sofa king]

yes stoney manitoba would be included in my dream of a western country because we need hydro power because the greenies wont let us build any new dams. if carbon is so bad why arent vehicles getting any better mileage than they were 30 or 40 years ago with all of the technology today we should be getting way better out of $70000.00 pickups. i guess a carbon tax wouldnt pay the govt much if fuel usage was cut way back and the big oil would have to take a haircut too. as a tax payer and consumer im sick of all the bullshit were being fed like theres a glut of beef so prices are down but not in the stores then theres always the fert shortage or glyphosate shortage does anyone remember peak oil theory and we are running out of oil dont hear that crap anymore end of rant f*&^k

[chuckChuck]

From Wikipedia
Calculating payments

Equalization payments are based on a formula that calculates the difference between the per capita revenue yield that a particular province would obtain using average tax rates and the national average per capita revenue yield at average tax rates. The current formula considers five major revenue sources (see below). The objective of the program is to ensure that all provinces have access to per capita revenues equal to the potential average of all ten provinces. The formula is based solely on revenues and does not consider the cost of providing services or the expenditure need of the provinces.

Equalization payments happen via the federal treasury. As an example, a wealthy citizen in New Brunswick, a so-called "have not" province, pays more into equalization than a poorer citizen in Alberta, a so-called "have" province. However, because of Alberta's greater wealth, the citizens of Alberta as a whole are net contributors to Equalization, while the citizens of New Brunswick are net receivers of Equalization payments.

Equalization payments are one example of what are often collectively referred to in Canada as "transfer payments", a term used in other jurisdictions to refer to cash payments to individuals (see Canadian transfer payments). The money the provinces receive through equalization can be spent in any way the provincial government desires. The payments help guarantee "reasonably comparable levels" of health care, education, and welfare in all the provinces. The definition of "reasonably comparable levels", however, has been the subject of considerable debate.

In 2009-2010, the total amount of the program was roughly 16.1 billion Canadian dollars.

Recent negotiations surrounding the renewal of the program have created considerable tension among provinces. Due to the zero-sum nature of the formula, increases in entitlements for some provinces necessarily lead to decreases for others.

[chuckChuck]

Equalization is a federal program. It is paid out of tax revenues paid to the federal government by all Canadians. The western provinces have higher incomes per capita than many eastern provinces therefore pay more federal taxes and receive less or no equalization. It is a complex formula.

When you look at all federal transfers to the provinces then you get a better picture of the benefits from federal transfers. Alberta does quite well in that regard.

It is always good politics for some western premiers to use the east west issues to campaign on. Any suggestion of western separation is not taken seriously.

If this was such a big issue why was Harper not able to fix it?

[furrowtickler]

Harper could not touch it. It's political suicide . He needed some Quebec vote support .
It's a fact the Quebec and its separation threats holds the rest of Canada hostage and results in one sided agreements such as equalization payments that cripple the others parts of Canada just to suit their idealistic speacial culture.
It's time this was changed , or we will be slaves to eastern Canada for decades to come.

[bucket]

If there was one charismatic leader in western Canada to whisper the words separation with some backing......think of what could happen.

[AlbertaFarmer5]

If there was one charismatic leader in western Canada to whisper the words separation with some backing......think of what could happen.

Politicians should be able to completely ignore Quebec, when you look back at the years where the Block Quebecois party took all of quebec, we still managed mostly majority governments with the rest of the country.

[sofa king]

when the BQ was in power Bombardier grew very fat from govt handouts and contracts to keep the frenchies happy. I might not like Quebec but I have give them credit because they know how to deal with politicians