Newfoundland and Labrador Launches Legal Challenge of Equalization Program

Newfoundland and Labrador is launching a constitutional challenge against the federal equalization program, saying it places the province at a disadvantage. The program’s goal is to “ensure provincial governments have sufficient revenues to provide comparable levels of public services at comparable levels of taxation,” the province’s Liberal government said in a statement on May 30. “Currently, this fairness is not achieved for Newfoundland and Labrador,” it said. Equalization was introduced by the federal government in 1957, and since then, every province has received benefits at some point, according to the government of Canada website. The three territorial governments are excluded from the program and instead receive federal support through a separate initiative known as Territorial Formula Financing....