Finance Minister Bill Morneau is asking his department for a quick analysis of provincial calls for an expanded stabilization program, and wants the report in January.
The deadline suggests the analysis will be completed in time for Mr. Morneau to factor it into his decisions on the 2020 federal budget.
Mr. Morneau made the announcement after two days of meetings in Ottawa with his provincial and territorial counterparts, who presented him on Tuesday with a proposal to expand the Fiscal Stabilization Program. The program provides special financial transfers from Ottawa when a province experiences a steep and sudden drop in tax revenue owing to economic factors. Provinces say its qualification limits are outdated and its maximum payments are too small.
“We need to take a look at what’s being proposed,” Mr. Morneau said on Tuesday afternoon. “The system, as originally set up, was intended to deal with provinces that are going through difficult financial times, and I don’t think anyone would argue that Alberta and Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador aren’t going through difficult financial times. So I think we need to look at it in that context. We plan on doing that. But we’ve got no conclusions until we do the analysis.”
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