Where's the money? Ottawa needs to be more flexible, say premiers

The federal government needs to improve the way it transfers money to the provinces, says P.E.I. Premier Dennis King, after a premiers' meeting in Toronto Sunday and Monday.

Premiers from western provinces went into the meeting wanting to talk transfers. In particular, the premiers leading what are considered wealthierprovinces wanted to talk about the equalization program.

King said the transfer discussions went beyond that. He noted there are programs P.E.I. could use, but are designed so that it can't.

"The greater need for P.E.I. and for jurisdictions such as ours is really to have a program that we can access," he said.

"The federal government is putting money such as transit money, $27 million on the table, but the program is written for Vancouver and Toronto and big cities and we can't access the money. So what we're asking is: You are earmarking this money for Prince Edward Island. Can you make it easier for us to actually get our hands on it and spend it to the outcomes that you desire?"

The premiers also discussed federal transfers for health care and the fiscal stabilization program, which is meant to help provinces suffering from an economic shock, King said.

Apart from federal transfers, ways to improve economic competitiveness and trade opportunities were also on the agenda.

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