The elimination of the deficit, however, has been somewhat controversial. In order to achieve annual surpluses, Chrétien governments slashed federal contributions to national, provincial, and territorial social programs. Supporters of Canada's social-welfare state have argued that this has caused a deterioration of the standard of living for many Canadians. Moreover, some provincial and territorial governments have argued that the federal cuts to provincial/territorial transfers have placed an extraordinary financial burden upon them. They argue that the federal government, in effect, solved its financial difficulties by simply "downloading" spending obligations to other levels of government. 

http://www.mapleleafweb.com/features/legacy-former-prime-minister-jean-chr-tien.html