QUEBEC SCORES $11.7B EQUALIZATION PAYMENT

  Ottawa has quietly renewed the equalization formula to keep it in its current form to 2024, but the move seems to have caught those looking for changes to the sometimes contentious federal program off-guard.
   Provinces such as Saskatchewan and Alberta – “have” provinces under equalization still suffering lingering economic effects as a result of a sharp downturn in oil and gas sector activity – said this week they are looking for modifications to the program.
  This year, Quebec will receive the lion’s share of equalization payments, at $11.7 billion. The “have” provinces that receive no equalization payments are British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador.
   “Have” provinces with economies strongly linked to resource extraction have expressed concerned that while their citizens have contributed billions through federal taxes to the program, the provinces themselves haven’t benefited properly as their economies have weakened in recent years. Resentment over the structure of the program has grown as major energy infrastructure projects such as the Energy East pipeline and the Trans Mountain expansion have been hindered by opposition from municipal and provincial governments, or protests, in other parts of the country.