Why?

The Atlantic Institute for Marketing Strategies, (AIMS) representative from Halifax while attending the Calgary Congress in October 2006 disclosed the following information.

The "have not provinces" use transfer payment funds to top up the salaries and benefits of their provincial employees, before the money is used for Education and Medicare. The federal Liberals "love the transfer payments". On a per capita basis, Alberta pays more than any other province. Increasing amounts will come from a prosperous Saskatchewan. That money greases the election process to elect Liberals; buying the vote east of the Saskatchewan border. That combined with voter numbers has allowed the Liberals to hold the balance of power in this country for most of the past 50 years. End

The Albertans know they are being "hosed" by the "have not's" but that information was a shocker. But civil servants carry a lot of weight in this country.

Canadian Press announced in the Penticton Herald January 4/09, that Nova Scotia premier Rodney MacDonald warned the unions that money would be tight.

The Halifax Chronicle announced that MacDonald gave his chief of staff, Bob Chisholm, a 9.7 percent pay increase, raising his salary from $131,613 to $ 144,477. 

     The premier gave his deputy chief of staff, Stephan Greene a raise of 14.9 percent, raising his salary from $120,000 to $137,920. Greene will not need the money, he is being appointed to the Senate. He will not be getting a severance payment from the province.

     Wade Keller, the premier's director of communications salary went from $95,000 to $$110,000, a raise of 15.7 percent.

     The people of Alberta pay between $13 to 15 billion annually in transfer payments. Since the transfer payments began, Albertans have paid more than $530 Billion. A billion is 1000 million. During the eighties, the National Energy Policy (NEP) destroyed the economies of Alberta, BC and Saskatchewan; wiping out the Oil Patch in western Canada; while at the same time draining Alberta out of more than $100 billion.     The NEP had 5 parts. It was going to nationalize the petroleum industry, it was going to drive the Americans out of the Oil Patch, It was going to provide cheap oil and gas to Ontario and Quebec forever, it was going to subsidize off shore oil imports into Ontario. Lastly it had nothing to do with oil and gas, it was going to bring Alberta down to size; the province was getting too big for its britches.

The only two provinces under Canada's flawed parliamentary system that can afford to pay for the Nova Scotia premier's pay raises are Alberta and Saskatchewan. The people from the two oil and gas producing provinces, after reading this article should immediately write, telephone, fax and email letters to their MLAs and MPs telling them to stop the free ride.

Recently we wrote about the hefty increases for civil servants in BC. These increases coming at a time when ordinary Canadians are cutting back and losing jobs is offensive to the taxpayer paying the bills. r

It seems during hard economic times the only people that don’t have to tighten their belts are the civil servants across Canada

by Ernest Slump