News

Canadian premiers foreshadowed a coming clash with Prime Minister Stephen Harper Friday over his pledge to diminish Ottawa's role in creating national social programs, warning that poorer Canadians could suffer.

"I'm a bit concerned about it. Are we talking about preventing the federal government from at some point in the future setting up social programs like daycare or pharmacare? Because I don't support that," Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty said as the premiers wrapped up their annual meeting.

"I'm a proud Ontarian. Proud to lead this province. But I'm a proud Canadian first."

Mr. McGuinty made the comments days after Quebec Premier Jean Charest said he wanted to begin bilateral negotiations with Ottawa about curbing the federal government's power to spend money in areas of federal jurisdiction. The pledge is a key Harper plank from the 2006 election campaign and is seen as an effort to win seats in Quebec, where federal spending power is opposed by the various provincial parties.

But it is also controversial in some other provinces where premiers are concerned the idea may rob them of federal dollars and help. Ottawa often uses the national spending power to fund — opponents say dictate — programs in areas of provincial jurisdiction, such as health care.

Mr. McGuinty also said he is concerned that Mr. Harper isn't being transparent about his plans.

"If they're going to move down that path, then they better bring this out into the open. My concern now is that there's a bit of an under-cover-of-darkness aspect to it."

Some provincial officials have quietly said the Prime Minister risks alienating voters outside of Quebec if the initiative is seen as giving that province more powers than other provinces.

Manitoba Premier Gary Doer said he doesn't believe in duplication of spending, "but I also believe in the role of the national government to have the ability to redistribute opportunities and equity for regions in Canada that need it."

Others expressed concern about Mr. Harper's track record with respect to his relationship with the provinces.

"The Prime Minister has made promises to people of Saskatchewan and people of Canada, the most significant of which he hasn't kept," Saskatchewan Premier Lorne Calvert said.

Mr. Calvert was referring to election pledges concerning the equalization formula that he and other premiers say were broken.

Mr. Charest said he understands that his province's interests may not be the same as those of other jurisdictions. He added that other provinces can negotiate with the federal government.

Meanwhile, the premiers wound up their meeting Friday without a comprehensive agreement on climate change. A number of the leaders had hoped to cobble together a deal that would have established a cap-and-trade system for reducing greenhouse gases as well as a California-style system to limit car emissions.

Instead, the premiers agreed to a more modest plan that commits them to produce an additional 25,000 megawatts of renewable energy by 2020 through such sources as wind, hydro and solar power.

The premiers also agreed to develop a consistent way to measure greenhouse-gas emissions by each joining into a new climate registry. The registry would allow for verification and public reporting of greenhouse gas emissions across the country.

Provinces also agreed they would include climate change within school curriculums.

"You couldn't claim that we have solved all the problems here, but we have made progress," B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell said.

Mr. McGuinty said failure to achieve a cap-and-trade agreement was a lost opportunity. At one point, he said he would accept California tailpipe emission standards if Ottawa would help the car industry adapt to the measures and if the other provinces agreed with a cap-and-trade idea. Under cap and trade, a central authority sets limits on emissions and those corporations that exceed their allotments pay a fee to those that keep their emissions below.

The idea was strongly opposed by energy-rich provinces such as Alberta, which is the country's largest producer of greenhouse gases.