The Ontario Chamber of Commerce

Fiscal Imbalance

Fundamental flaws exist in the system governing the federal transfer of dollars to the provinces and territories. Ontario, in particular, is being underserved in this regard. From birth to death, Ontario citizens are the most disadvantaged Canadians in relation to provincial government programming and public services.

All principal fiscal arrangements are up for discussion and/or renegotiation between now and the year 2015. There is a grave need to use this opportunity to modernize these agreements for the 21st Century as the current system of transfers directly impacts the health and prosperity of the business community and individual citizens in Ontario – and throughout the rest of Canada.

Our Goal

Since 2005, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC) has been seeking fairness in the federal transfer system. The OCC believes current biases are negatively impacting the physical and economic well-being of every province in Canada.

Continuously engaged in research and policy development, the OCC is advocating for changes to the federal transfer system that ensure Ontario receives an equal and fair share of tax dollars for its public services.

Our Position

The problems associated with our system of regional subsidies are large in global terms and deeply rooted in our history.  To rectify this issue, the following steps should be taken by both federal and provincial governments:

  1. Act now as all principal fiscal arrangements are up for discussion and/or renegotiation by 2015
  2. Create an equalization system that equally weighs fiscal capacity with population need
  3. Involve think tanks, policy analysts, academics and policy research organizations to study current and potential systems, and inform a public debate
  4. Evaluate the impact of current transfer agreements; currently, there is no comparison of programming between provinces and no study of the economic impact of transfer programs