In 1957 after a century of scathing debates and threats of provincial
separation Ottawa finally tackled the dangerous fiscal inequalities
among its richer and poorer provinces. Equalization grants allowed the
poorer provinces to provide relatively equal services for relatively
equal levels of taxation. The Art of Sharing tells the dramatic history
of Canada's efforts to save itself. The introduction of federal
equalization grants was controversial and wealthier provinces such as
Alberta - wanting to keep more of their taxpayers' money for their own
governments - continue to attack them today. Mary Janigan argues that
the elusive ideal of fiscal equity in spite of dissent from richer
provinces has helped preserve Canada as a united nation. Janigan goes
back to Confederation to trace the escalating tensions among the
provinces across decades as voters demanded more services to survive in
a changing world. She also uncovers the continuing contacts between
Canada and Australia as both dominions struggled to placate disgruntled
member states and provinces that blamed the very act of federation for
their woes. By the mid-twentieth century trapped between the demands of
social activists and Quebec's insistence on its right to run its own
social programs Ottawa adopted non-conditional grants in compromise. The
history of equalization in Canada has never been fully explored.
Introducing the idealistic Canadians who fought for equity along with
their radically different proposals to achieve it The Art of Sharing
makes the case that a willingness to share financial resources is the
real tie that has bound the federation together into the twenty-first
century.
