The provincial NDP is calling Premier Scott Moe a “hypocrite” for contemplating rejoining the legal battle against the federal equalization formula
On social media Thursday, Moe said his Attorney General Bronwyn Eyre will look at joining as a supporting intervenor in the Newfoundland and Labrador case.
Newfoundland and Labrador say the equalization program is flawed and it should have received money from Ottawa in each of the past five years, rather than only last year. Natural resource revenue is at the heart of the disagreement.
More than 15 years ago, the Saskatchewan NDP government launched a similar legal challenge that was eventually dropped by a newly elected SaskParty government in 2008. NDP Finance Critic Trent Wotherspoon made the following comments during a Thursday media scrum in Regina .
At the time, Justice Minister Don Morgan said the court challenge on equalization had been hampering negotiations between the provincial and federal governments. The Prime Minister at the time was Stephen Harper, who’s firm currently has a $240,000 consulting contract with the Saskatchewan government.