| Safe Streets and Communities Act This Act ends house arrest for serious/ violent criminals, toughens sentences and sets mandatory jail time for serious offences. |
This federal crime initiative presents a potential cost burden for the provinces as they are responsible for the administration of justice and the incarceration of offenders awaiting trial or serving sentences less than two years.
In 2012, the PBO estimated that Bill C-10, the “Safe Streets” Act, would cost PTs $137 million in non- capital spending alone (prosecutions, cases, incarceration, and parole reviews). PBO analysis of other federal crime legislation shows that changes to sentencing legislation can result in an increased financial burden on PTs relating in part to growing capital costs. The federal government will not provide compensation for the burden of these initiatives. |
| Public Safety/ Emergency Management Budget Reductions Public Safety Canada was created in 2003 to ensure coordination across all federal departments and agencies responsible for national security and the safety of Canadians.Its mandate is to keep Canadians safe from a range of risks such as natural disasters, crime and terrorism. |
The 2012 federal budget reduced Public Safety Canada’s (PSC) budget by 8.5 per cent over three years beginning April 1, 2013. This reduction has impacted provincial services. |
| Medical Transportation for Children and Youth in First Nations Communities Health Canada covers costs for children and youth travelling off-reserve to receive Non- Insured Health Benefits (e.g. physiotherapy, occupational therapy; speech and language therapy). |
The federal government indicated that, beginning in 2013-14, it will no longer cover the costs of children and youth traveling off-reserve to receive Non- Insured Health Benefits.
Transportation is essential for on-reserve families to be able to access these types of services, so PTs may be pressured to absorb the costs. |
| Equalization Equalization is the Government of Canada’s transfer program for addressing fiscal disparities among provinces. Equalization payments enable less prosperous provincial governments to provide their residents with public services that are reasonably comparable to those in other provinces, at reasonably comparable levels of taxation. |
In 2009, the federal government implemented two major changes to the Equalization program: the fiscal capacity cap was redefined as the average fiscal capacity of recipient provinces; and a ceiling that limited growth of the Equalization program to the growth in GDP.
Between 2009-10 and 2014-15 total Equalization entitlements were cumulatively $18.2 billion less than they would have been under an unconstrained program. |