The term “fiscal imbalance” has been the subject of heated debate in the past. I will probably avoid it so as not to revive old debates or re-open old wounds.
That said, when I published my first financial viability report in my current position, and even with the following report, I was surprised by the lack of discussion or debate about that imbalance, which I promised not to mention.
With regard to funding, the federal government seems to have fiscal flexibility, but there are not enough funds at the provincial level, at least in the long term. I would have expected this to give rise to a discussion about a transfer of funds from one level to the other. To my great surprise, however, that debate never occurred. Then the pandemic started, so there was really no opportunity for that discussion. We all had other concerns.