Equalization and the changes we've seen in recent years, as Dr. Mintz noted, have created tremendous problems. One of the things this does is punish provinces that are developing resources, such as Alberta. It also serves to discourage other provinces that have potential natural resource capacity. We've seen in Quebec, for example, that there's a lot of potential there. It's discouraging those provinces from trying to move forward in generating those natural resources. That's, in part, because of the way the funding agreement is structured. It not only damages provinces like Alberta, but discourages development in other parts of the country, which could then lead to more balanced revenue and to less of an impulse to have these equalization payments in the beginning.
On September 21st, 2022. See this statement in context.