Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams wants all Canadian flags taken down from provincial government buildings. The move comes in protest over failed talks with the federal government on offshore oil revenue.

"They're slapping us in the face. I'm not willing to fly that flag anymore in the province,'' Williams said Thursday.

Williams is furious with the federal government. He believes they never had any intention of seriously seeking a deal on the oil revenue during meetings in Winnipeg this week.

Williams angrily broke of talks on Wednesday, saying he was finished trying to negotiate.

At a news conference Thursday, the premier questioned Ottawa's motives in holding the talks.

"It's apparent to be that we were dragged to Manitoba in order to be punished, quite frankly -- to try to embarrass us, to bring us out there and get no deal and then send us back with our tail between our legs," a still fuming Williams told reporters in St. John's.

"From our perspective, we've done everything we could on this."

Williams had called Wednesday's talks with Finance Minister Ralph Goodale a "do-or-die" meeting. He was accompanied to the Winnipeg bargaining table by Nova Scotia Premier John Hamm.

Liberal Leader Roger Grimes is urging Williams to calm down and keep talking with Ottawa to reach a deal.

Grimes told VOCM radio talk show in St. John's that, "maybe we should keep our powder dry before we go off the handle and go crazy again.''

"I don't know how it moves the agenda forward to say `I'm going to pick up all my papers and go home and not talk to you anymore.'''

The dispute between Newfoundland and Nova Scotia premiers and the federal government is over the ownership of offshore energy revenues.

As it stands now, Ottawa claws back about 70 cents of every dollar of revenues by reducing equalization payments.

Newfoundland and Nova Scotia have both called on Ottawa to ignore their energy revenues when calculating their equalization payments. The move would give the provinces higher payments than those to which they would normally be entitled.

Equalization payments are funds the federal government provides to less wealthy provinces to help them provide comparable social programs.

Federal Finance Minister Ralph Goodale says he offered a full exemption on energy revenues.

But Williams says by his calculations, the exemption is less than 100 per cent.

Finance department officials say under the proposal rejected by Williams the clawbacks would end. The result would be between $2.5 billion and $3 billion in additional revenues for Newfoundland and about $640 million into Nova Scotia over the next eight years.

But Williams says says the offer is $1 billion short of what he was expecting in the next eight years.

Though Willams says the talks are over, federal finance spokesman John Embury told Canadian Press that talks could easily spill into the new year.

Williams walked out of a first ministers' conference two months ago after accusing the prime minister of breaking an election promise to protect 100 per cent of his province's oil revenues.

With files from Canadian Press