Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - January 23, 1985, Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg free press january 1985 Page 7 s Ottawa it seems to be a perennial like a dandelion the idea that a portion of resource reve Nues should be pooled and shared by All and in particular that Albertas Oil wealth should be Avail Able for general distribution among provincial the economic Council of Canada has been publicly toying with the idea for some it came Back to it last week in its detailed study on Energy Only to have its proposals promptly poo poohed by Brian Mulroney properly As Alberta fell on to harsh times after the arrival of the recession and the National Energy Many canadians began to wonder Why Albertas wealth should have been up for grabs in a Way never contemplated for Canadas manufacturing heart Courchene study if the Council is less than convincing in making its it is not alone in doing just a few weeks economist Thomas Cour currently chairman of the Ontario economic published his own study on equalization payments and examined the pros and cons of resource Revenue Shar producing some interesting Fig ures about Oil and Gas profits and Hydro Courchene seems to that the politicians might want More facts before taking a stand on the a few years when the Liber Al government was deeply concerned about the effects of Albertas accumulated Oil Allan Mac As finance acknowledged that he could see some Merit in a Revenue sharing it is interesting that the discus Sion is now doubly a constitutional an amendment introduced into Canadas new Constitution commits both Ottawa and the provinces to promoting equal opportunities for the Well being of Canad and providing essential Public services of reasonable Quality to All it also sets out Ottawa Obliga Tion to provide equalization pay ments ensuring the provinces sufficient revenues to provide reasonably comparable Levels of Public services at reasonably comparable Levels of a provision that substantially More Gener Ous than the Federal fiscal arrange ments Laws that preceded the councils startling Reading of the that it is intended to equalize the net benefits arising from its taxing is probably though it is a departure from earlier reasonably comparable before the Law simply promised poorer provinces reasonably comparable Levels of Basic not pub Lic it said that provinces must be Able to achieve this without unduly burdensome Levels of tax until and the latest equalization this goal was achieved by giving have not prov inces sufficient Money to bring their per capita revenues from assorted taxes up in each to the National average of revenues by that a series of adjust ments had been made because Al wealth Joan Cohen Ottawa editor Bertas soaring Oil and Gas revenues were causing great one adjustment partially exempted Al Bertas Energy revenues from the equalization a later one specifically excluded Ontario from the ranks of the a level it had tumbled to because of its own shortfall in resource the newest set of equalization arrangements substitutes a five province Standard for the National dropping Alberta and the four Atlantic provinces from this part of the obviously the action was taken so that Albertas resource Money would not go into the measurement for equalization it should be remembered that the compensation is paid by not the wealthy making for a rather asymmetrical set of a it is not hard to under stand Why economists would feel their profession owes Canada a More less and hoc payment with some supportable principles underlying under the economic councils pro the Federal government should have Access to a portion of provincial resource because it is Ottawa which has the task of redistributing wealth through equalization a second says the is to give Ottawa funds to help pay for the services it offers All under the Ottawa would have a set percentage of All resource profits and drop its present taxes on Energy production As opposed to corporate income which would the gravest difficulty with the proposal is that it asserts that re source Rich provinces should carry a special Burden in its advantage is that it probably would streamline taxing As Courchene has noted the National Energy program itself accomplished much of this giving Ottawa Access to a Large share of Energy Cour Chene suggests that if these funds were specifically earmarked for equalization much of the pressure for wealth sharing would Likely Courchene own study deals with proposals for a second tier equalization payment which would provide a inter provincial redistribution of resource his study deals at some length with complementary calculations that need to go into the arithmetic of resource benefits and one part of the for sex would have to recognize that by holding Energy prices below world albertan has Given their fellow canadians an estimated billion in a second calculation would put on the other Side of the balance Sheet the shortfall in tax Revenue when Energy is sold at uneconomic with savings on Hydro Bills As Well As Oil and Gas Bills for residents of the figures cited by Courchene indicate that governments in 1980 gave up taxes on billion in crude Oil profits and billion in Hydro with nearly half a billion of the latter coming from a redistribution of pay using calculations of the revenues would have seen Manitoba for example credited with nearly million of additional revenues arising out of Petroleum sales and debited with million for income shortfalls on Hydro the Point of All this a decade ago one economist offered this observation in the final Analy the adjustment of people to resources is Likely to take place in one of two Basic ways by a redistribution of rents revenues among and the other by a redistribution of people among prov to the extent that the adjust ment takes place through a Reallo cation of pressures bringing about a redistribution of people will be which Means that if Dur ing its Oil had ceded More funds to other a higher proportion of people would have found it economically Worth their while to stay interesting As an academic sex but probably dangerous and disruptive As a Way of financing our Alberta Many think some resource especially ought to be shared among All Miller and Timbrell Lead the pack by Eric Dowd special to the free press Toronto after three months of campaigning in the race for on Tario progressive conservative party Leader and the Field has shaken Only two Industry minister Frank Miller and agriculture minister Dennis appear to have a Chance of for undeniably the front there is even a slight possibility of a the surveys of delegates by news which obviously Are not in have been remarkably consistent throughout the showing Miller supported by be tween 40 and 44 per cent of those willing to identify their a substantial timbres backing has varied be tween 25 and 30 per treasurer Larry Gross mans Between 20 and 22 per cent and attorney general Roy Mcmurtry around the eight to 11 per cent no one disputes much that by far the most right Wing of the four but with a softening common touch Al most without backing from the party current Power brokers will Lead on the first ballot on january the presumption is that he will be followed by Timbrell and in that if Miller starts off with 40 per the lowest rating the papers surveys give he would be Only 172 votes Short of the 856 needed for unless the runner up was breathing Down Millers enough self seeking tories might scramble quickly to embrace a presumed win Ner that a Quick Miller Victory would be a number of senior party members Are already talking privately in terms of the inevitability of a Miller if Millers Lead is not so which is possible be cause of the margin of error in polling and the fact the Industry minister is by no Means dominating when he shares a platform with his a real race could it is not exactly leaping to conclusions to assume that Mcmurtry will be eliminated on the first a worse than deserved Fate for a pub Lic figure of considerable Mcmurtry has been handicapped particularly because he did not Start seeking support until after Premier William Davis but he also never played much of an internal role in the he held office As a personal Friend of Davis and he is approximately a red tory at a time when they Are not much in Mcmurtry relatively few votes would tend to Drift More to Gross with whom he shares some ideological ground on the party left and geographic some would go to probably not As Many to there seems Only a slight Chance Grossman could Edge out Timbrell As Millers main the Chance exists because the treasurer is the most intellectually formidable at close if this it is difficult to see Grossman going on to Grossman would appear to have problems attracting enough former Timbrell particularly die Rural and Small town tories Timbrell has collected during his three years As agriculture who would feel much More Comfort Able with Small conservative Miller from Bracebridge than with Grossman the Toronto City if Timbrell was against him on the final Miller does not appear such a sure Timbrell is much better placed to pick up Grossman supporters looking for a Urban and sophisticated Timbrell does not precisely answer this but he is clearly not As far to the right As 38 compared to Millers and More contemporary in Grossman presumably would not lift a Finger to help because of their Long standing dislike for each exacerbated by the arguments would then come into play that Miller is so conservative As to be a too old and a health because of his heart attack a decade it could even turn into a Din Dong Battle like the tories last leadership convention in when Davis was chased for four ballots by Allan who kept narrow ing the Gap until he eventually lost by Only 44 but this time there is even a possibility the front runner could get pipped at the Frank Miller or Dennis Timbrell have Best Chance of four now seeking Ontario tory party Turner gives liberals party rebuilding message John Turner told a John Turner told a Winnipeg audience last is not not a it is a set of principles liberals Are not Content with we believe in Reform and in the perfectibility of human liberalism believes in the supremacy of the it is opposed to monopoly it believes in human in Equality of Access to we believe in the social in the Equality of delivery of social services directed Pri Marily to the poor Are poor everyone should have a stake in social programs so that everyone will have a stake in protecting those social Turners decision to take his Audi ence of about 300 Manitoba liberals Back to the first principles of his party is an indication of two things the stress the party is under follow ing its crushing defeat last septem Ber and Neckar neck race with the nip for official opposition status and the degree of rebuilding he thinks the party he describes returning the Liber Al party to a progressive and compassionate Force in National affairs As the Challenge of my i accept it with enthusiasm and if remains to be How much enthusiasm and Joy he Calls Forth from after his one woman said i liked it when he said that what you see is what you that i believe in but i also believe in its a great con Frances Russell Trast to prime minister Brian during their years in the Wilder the tories also publicly pro fessed loyalty to their Parade of unsuccessful also declared themselves impressed with sub stance and unconcerned about image but the dissatisfaction and rumblings of discontent flowed like a subterranean eating away at the party the same thing is happening with Anonymous party sources complain that Turner lacks compe tent that he looks bad on that he is Turners biggest like tories Robert Stanfield and Joe is not whether he is capable of the but whether he is perceived to be both by the party and by the the most recent Gallup poll on leadership placed at 11 per a Distant behind even the at the Turner has Only two things going for he has no obvious successor and the liberals fear falling into the tory syndrome of assassinating their leaders and appearing fractious and incapable of governing even Liberal pollster Angus Back in Winnipeg following his attendance at the Liberal caucus strategy ses Sion in last says the next few months will give the liberals a number of issues read made for them to reestablish their relevance to the Over the next six it will be very difficult for the tories to keep their 54 per Cen plus support with the they Are Al ready preparing canadians for a Tough Reid says there Are some danger signals out for the they have this sense now that the next millennium belongs to the conserva they were elected on political style and image and they appear to think they can govern on that they Are totally dependent on they Are polling on the problem with that is that while polls Tell you where people they Are essentially they dont Tell you How attitudes Are formed and How policy should be the tories concentration on polls and plus the hard decisions facing them on issues like the econ the Manitoba language ques Tion and Reid can turn 1985 into a Fertile year for the but the party has to be Well disciplined and this May be a tall Reid says he never predicted the liberals would slip six to 12 Points behind the i was Only voicing a the liberals have dropped below their election sup while the nip is holding its i think the danger of third place still despite the latest Gallup which showed the liberals up one Point to 24 per cent and the nip Static at 20 per the disenchantment with the tories is Likely to occur first in the and that disenchantment is Likely to move to the not the Liber Turners rehearsal of Liberal principles underlines an even More fundamental problem his right of Centre it poses the biggest threat both to his leadership and his Turner himself has been known to question some of those Liberal such As the Universal Ity of social in this an incident at the opening of his speech is referring to the Frank discussions which went on behind closed doors at Turner said he was re minded of a quotation from president Ronald which was if at first you dont you get a lot of turning to Winnipeg fort Garry my Lloyd Turner laughed and said i Hope that com ment was sufficiently nonpolitical to allow me to mention the name of its i Promise you i will never quote him in any other in image is doonesbury is to pub to Welcome l w members of the College of in and Iii be your Liaison purjn6 toni6hts 1u 0e senpin6 inp5r10pic bulletins i rect the k haitian tequila 4 su66estiv5 Mil be sewer up a r by Garry Trudeau sir begot Takeem colle6e thes5mepia deah boys i ;