No one is talking about this. I listened to the better part of two hours of Rex Murphy’s call in (including our old friend Lisa Hrabluk) – nada. Nothing in the papers (that I read).
But, yet, Ontario is very happy that the issue of transfers being doled out per capita is finally being addressed.
Let me restate this so we are all clear. Health and social transfers in the last 10 years to New Brunswick grew roughly at a similar rate as Ontario’s (roughly). Ontario added 1.5 million people. New Brunswick dropped slightly.
If we move to a pure ‘per capita’ basis for transfers by 2014, what would that mean?
Is there anyone out there that can tell me what the impact of this is? If this standard had been in place when Bernard Lord took office – does that mean New Brunswick wouldn’t have received an additional nickel of health and social transfers?
This is my third blog on this topic so I’ll stop. But, I think somebody that knows should tell us.