According to a weekend Globe and Mail story, Ontario, B.C., Alberta, New Brunswick and Québec are barking about Newfoundland and Labrador’s ‘new deal’ for offshore/equalization revenues (we can assume this is Paul Martin’s new deal for Newfoundland because St. John’s is the only town big enough for his “new deal for cities”).

The story calls this a “countrywide revolt over equalization.” What nonsense!

Under the deal, Ottawa now underwrites the prosperity of the province for eight years. Ontario is upset because it feeds the have-not provinces under equalization. New Brunswick is a have-not province. Alberta and B.C. smell blood now that someone has managed to bite into the feds. And let’s not forget Québec. If there’s a way to get Newfoundlanders to think about Churchill Falls any more, M. Gilles Duceppe is the man to do it.

And all this came from a little flag flapping, right? A revolt in Canada? Do pigs fly? Molson isn’t really American — yet. Neither will the beer go bad, nor will federal-provincial relations break down in the near future over equalization.

The new deal itself, just like Newfoundland Premier Danny Williams’ so-called flag flap, is just another example of the adversarial nature of Canadian governance. Today, the pundits call it asymmetrical federalism.

When asked to describe their sense of belonging to Canada in Statistics Canada’s 2003 General Social Survey, 51.5 per cent of Newfoundlanders said that they felt a “very strong” sense of belonging. And this is from the last province to join Confederation in 1945. Not surprisingly, only Quebecers felt ‘less’ attached to Canada.

The system of power sharing known as asymmetrical federalism is oft touted as the model for renewed relations between Ottawa and the provinces. But as its name implies, it’s about giving unfair power and resources one way or the other.

Who came up with this asymmetrical federalism rubbish anyway? The Constitution (and the old BNA Act) lays out — without ambiguity — the roles of both Ottawa and the provinces. Yes, Ottawa cut transfer payments to the provinces in the 1990s. But it is still well within Ottawa’s responsibility to play parent with its 10.3 kids.

Lester B. Pearson had it right when he said that “politics is the use of blunt objects.” It’s just politics, that’s what this is about. It is not a revolt. Somebody should tell the other provinces to stop barking. The resulting drool is looking more and more like rabies.

Note: I realize that Nova Scotia has also signed a deal with the feds.

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