PENSE, Sask. – Stephen Harper says the question of how the federal government shares revenues between well-to-do and more needy provinces is not all that important in the election campaign.
The Conservative leader brushed aside a question about the equalization formula that Ottawa uses to help have-not provinces pay for services that wealthier provinces can more easily cover.
Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall has expressed frustration with the formula, saying it doesn’t easily take into account the changes in resource prices, such as oil and hydro, making it years behind the times.
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Harper, who is in Saskatchewan, says the Conservatives have made adjustments to the formula, but didn’t hint at any further changes to it.
Harper says he may be one of the few people in the country who truly understands the ins and outs of the complicated equalization formula.
He says neither Wall nor voters in Saskatchewan should be worried this election about the equalization formula and that they should be more concerned about natural resource development.
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