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Monday June 10, 2007
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Atlantic
dispute, Volpe defends ontario
("MPS are not extensions of provincial governments")
by
Angelo Persichilli
THE HILL TIMES
MPs are not extensions of
provincial governments in Ottawa because that’s not the way Confederation
works and they shouldn’t be pressured by provincial premiers to vote a
certain way in the House of Commons, says the former federal minister of
immigration Joe Volpe.
In an interview
with The Hill Times,
the Ontario Liberal MP
waded into the dispute between Ottawa, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and
Labrador, and Saskatchewan and he criticized the pressure on MPs to side
with the premiers of their provinces to break ranks with their national
political organizations last week.
“If this practice
will be pursued further by certain provinces, then I believe that also the
MPs from Ontario might take a second look at their role,” Volpe said.
Meanwhile,
Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty warned Prime Minister Stephen Harper last
week against making any further concessions to Newfoundland and Labrador,
Nova Scotia, and Saskatchewan.
The three
premiers accused the Prime Minister of breaking a promise to allow them to
receive full benefits of oil and gas revenues without any reduction in
equalization payments. Harper’s government is continuing to negotiate with
Nova Scotia.
McGuinty said
last week that Ontario supports equalization, but said Ontario won’t be
taken advantage of. He said if those provinces’ fiscal capacities exceed
Ontario’s then they’re no longer entitled to equalization payments.
Volpe said that
“by now everybody has made their point, equalization has been accepted, the
provincial premiers are defending their points and they are capable of doing
it. The role of the federal government is to maintain a federation that is
unified, strong, progressive, and forward-looking and I believe that we all
should keep this in mind in all our discussions.” As for the role of the
province of Ontario, Volpe said “Ontario has always been a great contributor
to the federation’s progressive outlook. However, as a Member of Parliament
from Ontario, I know that that contribution can be taxed unduly, especially
if more and more provinces become defensive of their own interests. So, I
believe that the province of Ontario needs to defend its own interests,
however, the Members of Parliament from Ontario need to keep in mind that
when we enter in discussions like this, that Ontario is a net contributor to
the federation and the equalization plan, and we should be making sure that
nothing is done to diminish Ontario’s ability and willingness to make that
contribution. I don’t think we should put the province of Ontario in the
position where its willingness might be diminished.” Lately, however, this
role seems to be under a lot of stress. “Lately, the Members of Parliament
from Ontario have been under a lot of pressure from the City of Toronto, in
particular, and from Ontario, in general. We are accustomed to this pressure
but, I said earlier, we always have to keep in mind to keep the interests of
the federation front and centre. The provincial premiers defend the
interests of their provinces.
For us, unity is
the most important and the national economy is important for building a
society for tomorrow. I wouldn’t like to see a situation develop where
Members of Parliament from Ontario are nothing more than an extension of the
provincial government of Ontario.” Volpe wouldn’t criticize his own Liberal
Party but said that “speaking from a partisan point of view, I wouldn’t like
to see the current Prime Minister as the sole spokesman for Ontario.” Will
that bring about a change in the attitude of the Liberal MPs from Ontario?
“That’s not the way our Confederation will be strengthened, but my concern
is that other provinces, including Ontario, might make similar demands to
their Members of Parliament, and that would be a development that would not
be very productive and we would have to rethink the whole issue of
representation.” Asked why he voted against the federal budget if he’s in
favour of the equalization formula presented by the federal government,
Volpe said the federal budget is not just about one issue: “I voted against
for a variety of reasons. I don’t believe that the budget will accomplish
what I believe is important. However, what the discussion is now focused on
in the budget, unfortunately, is on something that divides Canadians.” The
former federal minister for Ontario said that “we are talking about
equalization as the centrepiece of the budget. Yes, I voted against the
budget, but I think that the discussion of the equalization runs the risk of
dividing the country because the precedents that have been vigorously and
aggressively moved by provincial premiers will have a cascading effect on
provinces, in particular in Ontario, which is a net contributor to the
equalization.”
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