What happened at that First Ministers Meeting was precisely what Angus L. MacDonald warned against sixty years ago. The First Ministers showed how the federation endangers itself by pursuing fiscal policies focused on the specific, while remaining oblivious to the big picture. It was a blow because Canada is more than an economic union of disparate provincial interests. Indeed, Nova Scotia's role and place in the future of the federation goes well beyond simple economic advantage. Being a Canadian from the Province of Nova Scotia has to mean more than just being a line on a balance sheet in a federal government ledger.
Equalization is more than just fiscal arrangements.
It's the glue that binds us together. Several weeks ago, I read in the Globe and Mail that the Government of Alberta is going to be consulting the people of that province on how it should spend its budget surpluses once the provincial debt has been eliminated. While I'm happy for Albertans, I did have a pang of budget-envy. In the absence of a true Equalization program, citizens of this country will be treated neither equally nor fairly depending on where they choose to live. It is ironic that at a time when we have been celebrating the dawn of the new millennium and the exciting challenges posed by the 21st century, we somehow seem to have lost sight of those traditional Canadian principles like fairness and equity.