BRUDENELL, P.E.I. - Nova Scotia Premier Rodney MacDonald came away from Tuesday's annual meeting of the New England governors and Eastern Canadian premiers with sympathy, if not actual support, for his stand against Ottawa over equalization and offshore energy revenues.
MacDonald said at the conclusion of the two-day retreat at a P.E.I. golf resort that court action remains an option for the province as it mulls over ways to force Prime Minister Stephen Harper to honour the Atlantic offshore accords.
"We need to be able to depend on the Government of Canada's signature,'' he said, adding that was his main message to his fellow Atlantic premiers and Quebec Premier Jean Charest.
"They respect the fact I am fighting for something that our province believes is justified.''
The Atlantic accords struck with the federal government spell out how benefits and revenue from the offshore energy sector will be divided between the two levels of government.
MacDonald and Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams said the recent federal budget, which was made law last week, effectively negates provisions in the accords that protect provincial revenue from being clawed back under the federal equalization program.
Saskatchewan's NDP government is also at odds with Harper over the federal budget and is going to court in the fall to challenge the constitutionality of changes to equalization.
The fight over equalization was not on the formal agenda at the annual meeting of the premiers and governors, but it was a background issue throughout the session.
Williams complained publicly about Harper following the prime minister's visit to New Brunswick on Monday, where he signed a highways agreement with that province and pointed out the benefits of co-operation.
"I wouldn't trust Stephen Harper as far as I could throw him,'' Williams fumed, suggesting anybody signing agreements with the federal Conservatives should be extremely cautious.
Later, when U.S. Ambassador David Wilkins gave a briefing to the premiers and governors, Williams made it clear he realizes his opinions are not appreciated in Ottawa.
"You wouldn't be interested in acquiring a new state by any chance?'' Williams asked the U.S. representative.
Williams and MacDonald came away from the meeting knowing they are on their own on the issue of the accords and equalization.
"We are not part of the Atlantic Accord,'' said P.E.I. Premier Robert Ghiz. "I wished him (MacDonald) all the best in that endeavour.''
Energy and the environment topped the agenda for the premiers and governors who are moving closer to establishing a common market for electricity in their region.
The New England governors made it clear they want as much clean energy as they can get from Canada and the premiers said they are doing their best to meet the demand through new generating and transmission facilities.
"We need it and they've got it,'' said Rhode Island Gov. Donald Carcieri, summing up the supply-and-demand situation.
Although no hard decisions were made, the political leaders agreed to look more deeply into the issue of carbon trading as a means of helping to control greenhouse gas emissions.
The system, known as cap and trade, involves setting caps for industrial emissions and allowing large polluters to buy credits from companies that have an easier time meeting emission limits.
"In my view, this is inevitable,'' Charest said.
"But there are a lot of challenges. So, as a first step, we will have a discussion on how a market could operate in our region and determine what the rules would be and how it could function and then determine if, individually, we want to go ahead with this.''
Charest said the carbon-trading centre should be based in Montreal, but he admitted such a decision is far down the road.
New Brunswick Premier Shawn Graham said he will host a workshop on the potential for developing a regional cap-and-trade program.
It is something of an about-face for the New Brunswick premier, who indicated earlier he wasn't interested in such an approach.
"We are open to discussing the issue,'' Graham said. "We don't want to be left on the sidelines.''
The five premiers and six governors will meet again next summer in Portland, Maine.
