The new approach reflects eight principles including: responsibility and accountability, adequacy and comparability, affordability, predictability, neutrality, stability, flexibility, and sound incentives.
There is a clearer incentive for territories to increase their own sources of revenues. This supports the shared goals of self-sufficiency and self-reliance and will benefit all Canadians.
The Panel’s new approach means more funding for TFF. Based on some initial indicators, additional funding is required for the territories to meet pressing needs in key program areas and to achieve the goal of providing reasonably comparable services. The Panel urges territorial governments to continue to seek the most efficient and appropriate ways of providing essential services and, at the same time, managing growing costs of public services.
The simplified TFF has a number of added benefits including a clearer understanding of the financial circumstances of the territories and more certainty for potential investors. In turn, this should support economic development in the North and help secure Canada’s sovereignty over
the Arctic.
It addresses the recent sources of conflict between the federal government and the territories and provides a number of significant improvements to a formula-based approach for TFF.
It continues to recognize the very real diversity among the territories. It builds on the positive elements of TFF and includes a separate gap-filling formula and specific escalator for each territory.
The proposed approach to governance should bring more accountability, transparency, visibility, and timeliness to negotiations and to the renewal process for TFF.
While it’s still complex, the program is simpler than the previous TFF formula and will reduce some of the administrative burden on both the territorial and federal governments.
The Panel’s new approach is flexible enough to accommodate adjustments to funding due to federal initiatives and program transfers, existing and future agreements arising from Land Claims and Aboriginal self-government, as well as devolution and resource revenue sharing agreements among the territories, First Nations, Aboriginal organizations, and the federal government.
The simplified TFF has a number of added benefits including a clearer understanding of the financial circumstances of the territories and more certainty for potential investors. In turn, this should support economic development in the North and help secure Canada’s sovereignty over the Arctic.
