Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams is calling on opposition parties to show Prime Minister Stephen Harper the door, following a federal budget he described as callous.
Williams said the fine print in changes to the federal equalization program, contained in the budget that Finance Minister Jim Flaherty delivered in Parliament Tuesday, have left him no choice but to rekindle his notorious battle with the governing Conservatives.
"It's a good indication of the punitive, vindictive, nasty side of this prime minister," Williams said. "The indication over the next three years is a pretty crippling effect."
Until this budget, provinces like Newfoundland and Labrador were given different choices under the constantly changing equalization formula, which exists to ensure a standard level of services are provided in all provinces and territories.
Until now, the program allowed provinces to pick different options each year and take the one that put them in the best financial position. Williams said the new budget removed that flexibility, and means a substantial drop in expected revenue.
"The impact in the province over the next three years is — according to our early calculations — at least a billion and a half dollars," Williams said.
Williams said the latest change uniquely affects Newfoundland and Labrador because of the way its two offshore accords interact with equalization. The first Atlantic Accord, negotiated in 1985, recognized the province as the principal beneficiary of the offshore oil industry. The second accord, completed in 2005 with Nova Scotia, addressed problems, including a clawback of equalization.
Williams believes the changes in Tuesday's budget documents are a direct retaliation for the ABC campaign — standing for "Anything but Conservative" — that Williams, a Progressive Conservative, successfully waged in his province leading up to October's general elections. Voters in Newfoundland shunned all Conservative candidates.
"It's a very clearly orchestrated campaign by the federal government to cause maximum damage to Newfoundland and Labrador," he said.
"There obviously has to be a change of leadership.… We've seen this man betray [a] commitment before," said Williams, who launched the ABC campaign when Harper dropped written campaign promises from the 2006 election to continue to exclude offshore oil revenues from the equalization formula.
Williams said he would like Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff to help defeat the budget and perhaps allow a coalition government — involving the New Democratic Party, with support from the Bloc Québécois — to take over.
The change in equalization policy comes just weeks after Newfoundland and Labrador was told that it had become, a full year earlier than expected, a "have" province, in that it no longer qualified for equalization payments at all.
After the general election in October, Williams adopted a much more conciliatory tone with the federal Conservatives. Williams said the budget proves Harper cannot be trusted.
