Provincial and territorial premiers meet in Moncton this week to convene the Council of Federation. It's purpose is to improve interprovincial relations and show leadership on issues important to all Canadians.

Federal Budget 2007 will no doubt be on every leader's priority list at the Council of Federation. I will use my one-on-one time with leaders to explain why Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's treatment of Nova Scotia's Offshore Accord, a key catalyst in developing our economy, takes our province backward, not forward.

Nova Scotia has more than principle on our side; our battle to preserve the Accord is grounded in law, in fact and in history.

During the late nineteenth century, the federal government extended existing provincial boundaries into the north. It subsequently gave each of those provinces rights to the wealth of mineral and oil deposits beneath the soil. These were economic development agreements that paid huge dividends to provinces like Quebec, Ontario and Alberta. None of the Maritime provinces benefitted from those frontier expansions but we did support them. After all, strong regions unite to form a strong Canada.

Fast-forward to the 1960's when the prospect of oil and gas discoveries off the shores of Nova Scotia became a real possibility. Instead of expanding those boundaries to give Nova Scotia an economic development agreement similar to those historically afforded other Canadian provinces--the federal government challenged the province's jurisdiction.

Consider that during the same time frame, from 1957 to 1965, Alberta kept all of its oil and gas revenue while receiving equalization payments.

Fast-forward again to 1986. Former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney recognized the folly of the National Energy Program and dismantled it. That's also the year the federal government agreed to make Nova Scotia the full beneficiary of our offshore. It seemed Ottawa finally understood that siphoning regional resource revenues does not sustain regional development.

The 2005 Accord builds on that legal contract. The federal Finance Department's own web-site clearly states that the Accord "...for a time-limited period, provides 100% protection from equalization reductions resulting from the inclusion of offshore resource revenues in the Equalization program."

In 1986 we agreed to set aside jurisdictional claims as our part of the contract. We've kept that commitment. In 2005, we pledged to use offshore revenue spared from clawbacks to reduce the provincial debt. We've kept that commitment too - by putting the $830 million down-payment on the debt.

By axing the Accord, Minister Flaherty could claw back not only the amount we've already paid on the debt but any future revenue generated that exceeds that amount.

Nova Scotia has earned the right to enter the brief window of opportunity afforded by the accord.

Responsible governing and aggressive debt management have improved our credit rating, lowered unemployment, and slashed our dependence on federal transfers. Equalization payments made up 27 per cent of our revenue in 1998-99. Through hard work and commitment we've reduced that to 20.8 per cent.

Simply put, the provinces and territories need to be confident in the agreements they sign with the federal government. And equally important, provinces and territories need to know that the federal government supports economic development opportunities for all Canadians.