Identifying the issues

Introduce a 10-province standard

“The recent move to replace a formula-driven process by establishing an arbitrary, though escalating, ‘pot’ is an understandable but unworthy decision.” - Donald G. Dennison11

The majority of provinces and many academics supported a 10-province standard. They argued that, while the five-province standard introduced in the mid 1980s reduced the federal government’s overall costs, a 10-province standard is consistent with the principles of Equalization and should be established as the target. Ontario objects to the 10-province standard because it increases the overall costs of the Equalization program, which increases the burden on Ontario taxpayers who pay a substantial proportion of all federal taxes.

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