"We currently have an opportunity to renegotiate some very important federal-provincial fiscal issues," said Mr. Grimes. "We have a new Prime Minister who has expressed a willingness to do something to create a fairer federal-provincial relationship; there is an opportunity to renew the equalization formula; there appears to be some movement in terms of this province receiving more revenues from our offshore resources; the 8.5 per cent share of Hibernia may be transferred to the province in the near future; and there seems to be a willingness to take another look at health and social transfer payments to the provinces. These opportunities don’t come along very often and I don’t believe the current government is doing enough to make the most of them.

"This government seems to be more focused on attacking the people of this province rather than dealing with the real issue of getting a fairer financial arrangement within Canada. We should be making our case to all Canadians and the Canadian media. For example, while we prepare our legal case related to the Atlantic Accord, we should hire a public relations firm that can give us national exposure to the Canadian public. This would permit us the opportunity to explain to a national audience why we are not the principle beneficiary of our offshore resources. To date, I have not seen any movement in that direction from the current administration. Government should move forward with this type of strategy sooner rather than later.

"We started a number of years ago putting pressure on the Federal government and laying the groundwork for this type of opportunity. The Royal Commission on Strengthening Our Place in Canada was an important aspect of building our case. I am very disappointed to see that the Conservative government is not being more proactive. The people of this province should be fully aware of what is happening and I am hoping that by raising this issue now, the provincial government will be pressured to act before it is too late."