Flaherty promises money if provinces join HST

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty says he's prepared to cut a cheque to three holdout provinces if they sign on to tax harmonization.

He says transition funding will be available to Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Prince Edward Island if they jump on the harmonization bandwagon.

Ontario and British Columbia both signed lucrative deals this year that will give them billions of dollars to merge their provincial sales taxes with the federal GST.

Flaherty says he's talked to the provinces "from time to time" about tax harmonization, but it's up to them to decide if they'll sign on.

The premiers will be meeting Wednesday in Regina, where the economic downturn will likely be a hot topic.

But Flaherty suggested that there would be no new stimulus cash, as current funds are sufficient to get Canada back on firm economic footing.