Artinciples of
"tal-provincial
._felations

eh

As, the CVernment are an ex-
Y goog “Stee to which Cana-
,ltting S°Vernment. The many
nie ovincial and munici-
in th find a common
ln oe, Held of fiscal policy,
RY for }axpayers’ dollars and
jens, 8€PVices between the
i aq, S0Vernment—locally,
Pbeto. the federal level.
th directly tackling the
of ie be a frank
; € basic principles
mons between federal and
; Monge’ The Labor-Progres-
Of 1°, the following general
lations:

di,

t
“(

ge i

h » Ponsibility for ad-
nN,

" State. y

Arta oA for many nationally
“ Nyepbe aly eministered. services
TR on neon to lead to any
j a 80Ver € Tight and authority
f%, the; MMents to manage the
the ‘ Tespective provinces.

Nequivocal recognition

Nati,
b Mon},° Mhood of the French-

evels of provincial
and needs.

vs. dy. Of Canada represent
tty “strial and agricultural
Sas y, Immediate and most
aye t ell as a great variety

Tadit;
Mt hogg ONAL backgrounds.
t are in very large

0
Ny con Cad’ development,
ih Stowtp, ation of financial
sty St ig | 820 the conditions
M the “Teates are radically
Brie nditions and needs
eq Sh North America

y
tS

nf

i
tty |S between provinces and.

a as a democratic’

As a result there has developed a far-
reaching maldistribution of responsibil-
ities and public revenues which tends
increasingly to make some provinces and
their people victims of our country’s
growth instead of beneficiaries,

8 Canada’s progress must ~ con-
tinue, and it can do so without,
sacrificing or ignoring any con-
siderations flowing from the dif-
ferences in the economic and
cultural positions of the  pro-

» vinces.

Adequate measures must be introduced
to correct. economic inequalities by more
equitable distribution -of revenues be-
tween the federal.and provincial govern-
ments.

4 More help to the municipalities.

The crisis in municipal finances is also
a consequence of Canada’s growth. This
growth has resulted in rapid pyramiding
of municipal responsibilities and costs
quite unforseen in 1867. The cost of
education alone is greater today than
the aggregate cost of all municipal ser-
vices 50 years ago, and expenditures+ on
education must of necessity increase still
more rapidly in future. That exemplifies
the need of the municipalities for sub-
stantially increased assistance.

Provinces and
municipalities--
What the conference
should do

Taxation and grants

more equitable distribution of revenues
A must be achieved to enable; the less
favored provinces to meet the increasing
need for highways, for urban develop-
ment and its several related requirements,
for public health, relief, public invest-
ment and education. To help equalize
the basic revenues of the provinces in
accord with their populations and needs,
the Labor-Progressive party puts for-
ward the following proposals:

The agreement entered into between
the federal government and the province
of Quebec illustrates a method by which
a measure of equalization of revenue
can be achieved for the less favored
provinces. Such, an arrangement must
include both the right of the more favored
provinces to levying and. collecting of
their own provincial. taxes, the same. to
be deductible from federal taxes, levied
on the same sources, and redistribution
of part of the national revenue to the

A large part of the huge sums ‘spent in a fruitless
and ruinous armaments race, almost $2 billion annual-
ly, can now begin to be devoted to lifting up the level
of social services. A more equitable distribution of
revenues is needed to meet the increasing need for
public health, education, housing.

less favored provinces, in proportion to
their population and their needs.

The formula that will guide the opera-
tion of such an arrangement corresponds
exactly with Canada’s needs and the
varying financial resources of the dif-
ferent provinces. It must provide:

+ That direct taxes levied by provin-
cial governments upon personal incomes,
corporation profits and inheritances, are
deductible from federal taxes levied in
those fields.

+ That any province which refrains
from levying provincial taxation in those
fields, thus giving the federal govern-
ment a monopoly within the. province,
shall receive from the federal govern-
ment an annual rental which, in propor-
tion to their population shall be equal
to the average revenue secured from
those sources by the more favored
provinces.

In addition to the foregoing, because
of the disparity between the revenues
to be secured from other sources in

various provinces, the federal govern- -

ment should make special grants to
needy provinces on the basis of need.

The conference should require of the
federal government that it discard and
repudiate the practice of offering
“matching grants.” Imposition of such
conditions is a form of, discrimination

Children have been the victims of the
cold war. Taxes to pay for armaments
have cut deeply into parents’ incomes
while the heaviest part of education costs
have fallen on parents as homeowners. _

against thé less favored provinces and
contradicts the spirit of equity which

should govern federal assistance to the «

provinces.

Cost of education

In addition to the foregoing. and with-
out prejudice to any existing arrange-
mdéhts entered into to meet specifi¢ needs,

the federal government shall transfer ~

annually to each provincial government,
as' part of that government’s provincial
revenues, an amount equal to the cost

of elementary education, based upon the :

total number of children of elementary
school age in the province.

This money Shall be paid from the in-
come taxes and corporation profits taxes
collected by the federal government,
and its payment to the provinces shall

be declared to be a statutory and ir- ©

revocable right. r

This is the only democratic method of
dealing with the crisis in education. .
- First, this method removes the intol-
erable burden of education taxes on the
homeowners, and permits municipalities
to develop community services.

Second, ‘to pay for elementary educa-
tion out of income and corporation profits
taxes is the most democratic method,
because it approaches educational costs
from the standpoint of ability to -pay.

Social services

Public Relief: Unemployment, whether
it is due to incapacity, exhaustion of
National Unemployment Insurance bene-
fits, or the inability of an uninsured
worker to get a job, is no longer a result
of local conditions and®its victims are
not necessarily residents of the munici-
pality in which they are driven to apply
for assistance. While local administra-
tion is evidently advantageous, municipal
taxpayers should be freed entirely of the
cost.

Indigent Patients: The charged condi-
tions which determine the immediate
location of applicants for relief, apply
also to the immediate location of indigent
patients in hospitals. Until such time as
all Canadians are provided with the
assurance of hospitalization when needed
by a national health scheme, the munici-
palities must be freed from the cost of
idigerit patients by provincial govern-
ments assuming financial responsibility.

Health and housing services.

Next to actual unemployment, the high
cost of medical care is the grayest threat

to the economic security of the average -

income groups in the country.

The conference should agree that the
protection against sickness is an inalien-
able right of every citizen. Such a right
can only be translated into reality
through the institution of a comprehen-
Sive nationwide health insurance, paid for
from the national treasury and adminis-
tered by the provinces. Pending the in-
troduction of such a National Health
Act the federal government should:

Continued on next page —

PACiFIC TRIBUNE — SEPTEMBER 30, 1955 — PAGE 7

ASM TIRE A PSE OIE

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