Ottawa-Today, Ed Komarnicki, MP for Souris-Moose Mountain, said it is time for Ottawa to return to Saskatchewan, money it withheld from Saskatchewan as a result of unfair calculations in Saskatchewan’s oil and gas revenues. Komarnicki made his comments as Canada’s Premiers met with the Prime Minister in Ottawa.

“Saskatchewan could soon become a ‘have province’, according to the calculations used to determine Equalization Payments, but we are still owed hundreds of millions of dollars by Ottawa, because the government miscalculated how much Saskatchewan was owed in the past,” said Komarnicki. “Under the existing formula, Saskatchewan loses more than $1 in equalization payments for every $1 it earns from oil. This has resulted in a loss of millions of dollars over the past few years.”

“Recently, Finance Minister Ralph Goodale promised Saskatchewan will be able to keep its equalization payments, no matter how much extra money the province makes from oil revenue. I’m going to hold him to that promise,” Komarnicki stated.

Currently, Saskatchewan receives $267 million per year in equalization payments. Compare that to Manitoba, with a similar population, which receives $1.34 billion each year. During the First Ministers’ meeting in Ottawa, there is a proposal that equalization for next year will be based on the past three years. The current formula bases the national standard for provincial wealth on British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec -- but all provinces except for Ontario and Alberta fall below that level.

“It is important that Ottawa not carry on the inequities of the past few years into its proposed funding for next year,” Komarnicki said. “At a time when Saskatchewan is paying out a disproportional share, compared to other provinces, to its agricultural producers under current cost sharing programs with the federal government, it is vital that Saskatchewan receives every dollar owed to them by Ottawa.”