Mr. Speaker, they did offer a “best-of”, but it was a best of either world, not a best of both worlds, which the accord was. The Prime Minister continues to say there is no stacking provision. The accord was an opportunity for Nova Scotians to get out from under the per capita debt, the highest in this country, because they would get the best from the revenues, plus they would get the best of the equalization.
I guess we will drill down, because I know the speaking notes are tight over there. Those guys are better than Wal-Mart when it comes to messaging and marketing what they want to say and the spin they want to put on it. The truth is that Nova Scotians are the ones who are suffering for this.
I will ask a very specific question. Are the revenues generated from the offshore factored into the fiscal capacity of the province which in turn determines the amount of equalization that Nova Scotia receives?