Premiers Stand United On Offshore Revenues
Premiers John Hamm and Danny Williams have reaffirmed their commitment to stand united on the Atlantic Accord and say they are looking forward to an upcoming meeting with Prime Minister Paul Martin to resolve differences between the federal government and the two provinces over offshore revenues.
"Now is the time for the prime minister to step up and give firm direction on this important file," Premier Hamm said today, Nov. 8, after a meeting in St. John's with Premier Williams. "I am, therefore, delighted that this morning the prime minister has agreed to sit down with myself and Premier Williams."
"This morning, Premier Hamm and I placed a call to Prime Minister Martin and requested a meeting so that we can resolve the differences that are blocking the implementation of the agreements that he made with each of us in June," said Premier Williams.
"It is absolutely imperative that Prime Minister Martin resolve this serious domestic issue before he turns his attention to his international mission in mid-November. While his international duties and obligations are very important, he has a responsibility to fix what is broken at home, and I call on him to do that as soon as possible so that our provinces can finally start to benefit from our offshore resources in a meaningful way."
In June, the prime minister made a commitment to both provinces that they would be able to retain 100 per cent of net direct provincial revenues from their offshore resources through their respective offshore accords. Moreover, the June 2004 commitment did not contain a cap or a time limit. This agreement is outside the equalization program and does not impact the total amount of money available to other equalization-receiving provinces. Neither province would "double-dip" into the equalization program. Once each province's own-source revenues surpass the five-province equalization benchmark, that province will cease to receive equalization payments.
The federal government has not lived up to that agreement. Under recent proposals by the federal government, the provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia would stand to lose billions of dollars. Both premiers confirmed that this is clearly not acceptable.
"This is not just a question of two provinces dealing with their respective offshore resources. This is an opportunity for the prime minister to show leadership, to demonstrate vision, to engage in nation building," added Premier Hamm. "This is Paul Martin's chance to make the right decisions today that will unleash more have provinces upon the Canada of tomorrow. I am looking forward to this meeting so that together with the prime minister and the federal government, we can build a brighter, more prosperous future for our respective provinces."
"This is a matter of pride," added Premier Williams. "We insist on being treated as equal partners in Confederation with the freedom to use our non-renewable natural resources so that we can achieve long-term stability within our respective jurisdictions for the benefit of our people and, ultimately, for the benefit of Canada. I want to express my sincere appreciation to Premier Hamm for the unprecedented co-operation between our governments on this file. We stand together united on principle, that an agreement is an agreement and 100 per cent is 100 per cent."