Article content
Everyone saw Alberta’s bad news budget this week another huge deficit and our net debt now surpassing $100 billion. (Hard to believe that only 16 years ago we were debt-free.) What Albertans did not see is that Ottawa’s equalization program will still be treating Alberta as a “have province,” which means we will be paying rather than receiving. The equalization budget for 2021 is projected to be just over $20 billion, and, as usual, Quebec will be receiving two out of every three of those dollars.
What’s new is this. We now have learned that over the last decade, as Alberta’s debt spiralled to previously unimaginable levels, Quebec has socked away $11.6 billion in a newly created Generations Fund “with the goal of reducing Quebec’s debt burden.” Yes, that would be the same Quebec that, with a big assist from the Trudeau Liberals, blocked the construction of the Energy East pipeline.
Scotland's renewed push for independence is not only similar to Québec's there are also lessons for Scottish politicians in Canadian law on the concept of separation.