Quebec gets less in Ottawa's proposed equalization plan

Quebec will receive a smaller equalization payment this year because of changes proposed by the federal government, but that won't necessarily affect the province's short-term economic outlook, Finance Minister Monique Jérôme-Forget said Monday.

Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty told his provincial counterparts Monday that Canada's equalization formula is not sustainable given the economic slowdown and dropping oil prices.

Flaherty said the U.S. economic crisis will have a direct bearing on how wealth is redistributed between so-called rich and poor provinces.

The federal and provincial ministers of finance met Monday in an emergency meeting to discuss the fallout from the world economic crisis.

Quebec is traditionally the biggest recipient of equalization payments, but this year stands to lose about $50 million, out of a total of $8 billion in transfers.

The amount is fairly negligible, Jérome-Forget said, but Quebec would like assurances from Ottawa that equalization payments won't be reduced to so-called have-not provinces.

It's also up to the federal government to propose "very active measures to counter the important slowdown, especially in terms of exports to the U.S.," she said.

Ontario will receive equalization payments worth more than $300 million given the province's reliance on manufacturing and exports to the U.S.