Mr. Speaker, all payments under the disaster financial assistance arrangements are made according to the same criteria and all the provinces are treated fairly and equitably.
The Manitoba government has already been paid advance payments of $7 million for the 1993 floods. In July of this year we received a request from the Government of Manitoba telling us the amount of damages for the 1995 and 1996 floods but there was no request for an advance payment to be made and therefore no advance payment was made.
In this case, all the rules have been followed and Manitoba has been treated in a totally fair and equitable manner.