The battle to save the Offshore Accord continues.

The Senate's decision to vote in favour of the federal budget, Bill C-52, is disappointing but not unexpected.

If ever there existed a bill that deserves the "sober second-thought" the Senate is supposed to provide, it's Bill C-52.

The Senate failed to amend the budget as suggested by Finance Minister Michael Baker and I, but we did garner excellent support. The final vote was 45-21 with six abstentions.

Appearing before the Senate brought the fight to preserve the Offshore Accord to Canadians outside this region and helped them to understand the real impact of the federal budget on Nova Scotia.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper's budget dismantles clause four of the Offshore Accord. That's the clause that guarantees Nova Scotia compensation for every offshore dollar clawed back by equalization - whatever the formula.

The claim that the Offshore Accord "remains in its original, pristine form" is a myth perpetuated by federal officials. They are trying to convince other regions that Nova Scotia wants double-equalization or that we "want to have our cake and eat it, too."

That's simply not true. The Offshore Accord is not a "sweet heart side-deal." It is an economic development agreement between Federal and Provincial governments similar to the agreements that support Ontario's auto-industry and Quebec's aerospace industry. Our Accord has the added advantage of being rooted in law by agreements signed in 1982 and 1986.

The only obvious difference between other economic development agreements and our Offshore Accord is that Ottawa does not try to claw them back.

When equalization was first introduced in this country in 1957, Alberta was a have-not province, a recipient of equalization payments. Then the oil-boom hit. Alberta's economic independence was accelerated because oil revenues were left out of the equalization formula. By 1965, just eight years later, Alberta became self-sufficient and hasn't looked back.

That's what the architects of the Offshore Accord envisioned for Nova Scotia. It was never meant to squeeze more money out of Ottawa. It was designed to do the opposite: maximize the benefit generated by a non-renewable, finite resource and accelerate Nova Scotia's economic independence.

Let me be clear; the Nova Scotia government does not begrudge other regions the helping-hand Ottawa provides them. Strong regional economies benefit all of Canada. But let's end the double-standard; what is seen as an investment in one region should not be seen as a handout in another.

I will argue this point again, today, when the New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers meet on Prince Edward Island. I will keep talking about the Accord until every premier, every Canadian understands that the federal government's actions compromise Nova Scotia's future and Canada's good name.

Parliament may be in a hiatus but the fight to save the Offshore Accord must not slow down. Add your own voice to this important effort. Visit www.gov.ns.ca/accord and sign our on-line petition. Join the thousands of people who have already said "a deal is a deal." Show Ottawa the value Nova Scotians place on keeping a promise.

It's my hope these efforts will convince the federal government to simply do what they know is right: honour the Offshore Accord.

Nova Scotians deserve the opportunity to become contributors to Canada. Honouring the Offshore Accord will help us achieve that goal. Destroying it and relegating Nova Scotia to indefinite reliance on equalization will cost every Canadian.