REGINA — Now that Newfoundland and Nova Scotia have a new energy revenue deal with the federal government, Saskatchewan wants one.
“We want the same deal,” said Saskatchewan Premier Lorne Calvert, in a release Monday. “We congratulate Atlantic Canada on this new deal. But we believe it is only fair that Saskatchewan receive a higher percentage than we currently do.”
Under the deal hammered out with Ottawa Friday, the offshore revenues of the two provinces are protected from being clawed back under the federal equalization program.
The deal is expected to put $2.6 billion in Newfoundland coffers over the next eight years while Nova Scotia’s deal is worth about $1.1 billion.
Saskatchewan Finance Minister Harry Van Mulligen was in Ottawa Monday to make the case to federal Finance Minister Ralph Goodale.
Saskatchewan loses about 90 per cent of its oil and gas royalties and taxes, said Calvert. Over the past 10 years, the province has lost more than $4 billion as a result of Ottawa clawing back oil and gas revenues, he added.
