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SYDNEY, N.S. - Cape Breton Regional Municipality should think twice about pursuing a lawsuit that accuses the provincial government of short-changing it, says former federal cabinet minister David Dingwall.

Dingwall, now a lawyer working in Sydney, told a business audience Thursday that court action is not the answer, mainly because Cape Breton will probably lose.

"I don't think that the only tool that the municipality has in their tool box is a legal remedy," he said.

"I think there are other tools. I think they should explore those tools, and I think they should get on with trying to resolve the issue."

The legal action accuses the province of underfunding the municipality by $20 million since 1995 through a complex equalization formula.

A Nova Scotia Supreme Court judge tossed out the lawsuit last month and municipal council will meet later this month to decide what to do next.

But Dingwall said that even if the municipality wins on appeal, the court victory may not force the government to pay up anyway.

"Even if they had of won in the Supreme Court, they only would have won a legal declaration. No money, not a cent."

Dingwall says the community must lobby other levels of government for change that could provide new revenue for the municipality.