During his trip to Alberta with the three Maritime premiers, Premier Danny Williams claimed he had support from Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach in Williams' battle with Ottawa on Equalization.
Seems that might not be exactly the case.
Stelmach told reporters in Alberta that he and his provincial colleagues have adopted a "wait-and-see" approach. That is, they'll wait and see what Ottawa does before discussing Equalization any further.
CHED Edmonton is reporting that Stelmach "says if more revenue is put into the pool, it puts additional pressures on so-called 'have provinces' to maintain those levels in the future."
Williams wants to make changes to Equalization that would see more money flow to his province and keep Newfoundland and Labrador in a "have-not" position for the foreseeable future.
Stelmach apparently prefers lower Equalization demands while seeing additional federal cash flowing to all provinces through transfers on health and education.
