Should B.C. continue paying into the federal equalization program which transfers money from wealthier provinces to poorer ones?

British Columbia’s premier says he wants to support Newfoundland and Labrador’s plans to sue Ottawa over the federal equalization program, which transfers money from wealthier provinces to poorer ones, calling the current formula “completely absurd.”

David Eby told reporters Monday he hopes to have an announcement on the matter before the three-day Council of Federation meetings of Canada’s premiers in Halifax wraps up on Wednesday. The premier said British Columbia taxpayers are put at a disadvantage by the equalization formula, which is an attempt by Ottawa to reduce regional wealth disparities across the country.

“The thing that really frustrates me, and an issue that I’m raising at the (Council of Federation) table and generally, is that B.C. taxpayers are sending tax dollars to Ontario through equalization. That is completely absurd. Ontario is not struggling to provide schools or hospitals,” Eby said.

British Columbia has not received payments from equalization in more than a decade.

Eby claims that equalization “has resulted in the last two years of a billion dollars going to Ontario, while B.C. taxpayers are struggling, just like everyone else, with affordability issues.”

On May 30, Newfoundland and Labrador said the province would file a constitutional challenge against Ottawa over the program “in the coming weeks.” The Newfoundland and Labrador government has said the formula is flawed, and the province could have received between $450 million and $1.2 billion in each of the last five years instead of receiving nothing.

Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey said Monday that despite his province’s court challenge, he’s hopeful that upcoming talks with the federal government will allow both sides to avoid legal action.

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