Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams says the federal government should do more to help Ontario and Quebec's struggling manufacturing sectors.
"The broad shoulders of Ontario have carried this country for a long, long time," Williams told CTV's Question Period on Sunday.
He recalled a meeting last year between the premiers and Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
"I was at the prime minister's house when he indicated he didn't think this was a problem that needed the direct intervention of the federal government," he said.
"So I took (Harper) to task on that and we had a discussion. As well, I've indicated publicly that as a province, we're very supportive of the need to get Ontario through this critical situation."
Ontario and N.L. find themselves in atypical positions.
This past week, Williams' Progressive Conservative government tabled a budget that projects a $544-million surplus for the Atlantic province, something driven in part by high oil prices.
High prices for oil and other commodities have driven up Canada's dollar relative to the U.S. greenback, and this has wounded the competitiveness of the manufacturing sector.
On Tuesday, the TD Bank predicted that a combination of surging resource economies in the West, coupled with weakness in manufacturing, could leave Ontario qualifying for equalization payments within a few years.
Equalization is a complex program designed to ensure that all Canadians have the same basic level of health and educational services at comparable levels of taxation.
"I never would have believed it," Williams said. "We certainly don't take any delight in Ontario's misfortune ... we've been there in Newfoundland and Labrador, and we feel the pain."
Economies can be cyclical, but the point of the federation is to pull together in tough times, he said.
Federal attacks
In the period leading up to Ontario's provincial budget, federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty aggressively pressed his home province to cut business taxes.
"I have great difficulty when (Flaherty) makes a statement that the last place to invest in the country is the province of Ontario," Williams said.
The N.L. premier has had his battles with the federal Conservatives over issues like equalization. However, the province's current good fortune means it will be off equalization next year.
"It just goes to show their attitude," Williams said of his federal cousins. "When they want to dig in and malign a province, they do it at their whim and if it suits their agenda."
Ontario's Premier Dalton McGuinty made the point Wednesday that residents of his province sent more than $20 billion to Ottawa each year than the province gets back in services and transfers from Ottawa.
"It's just perverse to say that somehow we are in need, while at the same time we're sending $20 billion to the rest of the country," he said. "It just doesn't make any sense."
Williams said, "If Ontario needs help, then we're there to support them, and I can't state it any clearer than that."
In Ontario itself, provincial Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory aligned himself with the feds, saying the Liberals should cut taxes and ease the regulatory burden on business.
Provincial NDP Leader Howard Hampton asked: "Is the McGuinty government really saying that the federal government should change the tax system so that they take less money from Ontario? How fair would that be for the rest of Canada?"
Ontario government officials have said even if the province did receive equalization payments, the federal government would simply claw the money back by cutting health transfer payments.
Other reaction
Alberta Conservative MP Ted Menzies, parliamentary secretary to the federal finance minister, told Question Period that Canada's economy is in good shape.
"But we can't help but look across the border and see the difficult challenges the Americans are facing," he said.
The federal government stimulated the economy with huge tax cuts in its fall economic update, he said.
Menzies claimed there are 750,000 net new jobs since the Harper Conservatives took power.
Liberal finance critic and Ontario MP John McCallum told Question Period the Harper government has very little fiscal room left for new programs and has trash-talked Ontario.
Ontario NDP MP Peggy Nash, her party's industry critic, told Question Period that 55,000 manufacturing jobs have been lost so far this year alone.
"I don't think the government is handling the economy well at all. Mr. Harper has turned his back on the manufacturing crisis, he's turned his back on Ontario," she said.
McCallum said his party supports a $1-billion fund to help the manufacturing sector -- something the Tories opposed.
Menzies said 85,000 jobs in Ontario can be linked to serving the oil sectors in Alberta and Saskatchewan.
"They may not be building cars, but they have good-paying jobs that are supporting the Canadian economy," he said.
