Just read this in the TJ:
Atlantic discord
New Brunswick will pocket $1.1 billion less in equalization from the federal government by 2020 under changes made by the Harper Conservative government, says a study by the non-partisan Atlantic Provinces Economic Council.
According to the Self-Sufficiency plan, we won’t need any Equalization by 2025. So a grand total of $1.1 billion less by 2020 doesn’t seem to be very relevant, do you think?
Now, to appreciate the size/scope of this number, remember that NB receives something like $1.3 billion now every year from Equalization so losing $1.1 billion over 13 years doesn’t seem like much. Particularly in light of the goal of bringing the $1.3 billion per year down to zero by 2025 and realizing that Equalization is forecasted to increase in New Brunswick for at least the next several years.