The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Finance Minister Harry Van Mulligen will take Saskatchewan's case for a similar equalization deal as achieved with Newfoundland and Nova Scotia to Federal Finance Minister Ralph Goodale in Ottawa. Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador have reached a new deal with the federal government to keep 100 per cent of their offshore energy revenue. "That's great news for Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador. We expect it to mean great news for Saskatchewan too," Premier Lorne Calvert said. "We want the same deal." Saskatchewan's position has long been that the difference in treatment of natural resources between jurisdictions is unfair. Saskatchewan loses, on average, about 90 per cent of all provincial royalties and taxes collected on oil and gas developments. In some years, Saskatchewan has lost in excess of 100 per cent of all its provincial energy revenues. "A similar deal for Saskatchewan, looking back over the last 10 years, would have realized over $4 billion for the province," Calvert said.
