Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to respond to the hon. member. When we look at the investment of $2.5 billion as an increase in transfers I think we ought to look at it in the context of the additional $11.5 billion in the last budget. I said earlier in my speech that the commitment to provide additional money for health care is certainly there. It has been made by the finance minister. It will be incumbent on provincial health ministers to come up with a plan that will work.
I also want to mention to the hon. member, since she brought up the question of transfers to the provinces, that she should not forget that the province of Quebec is one of the provinces that receives equalization payments.
I do not know whether this is the correct figure but I am sure it is in or about an approximate one. In the last budget we had about a $1.4 billion increase in equalization payments which I believe the province of Quebec put to its bottom line. It certainly had an opportunity to continue to run the deficits as it always does in that province or to put that increase in equalization payments into health care. It had the opportunity but it chose to put it to the bottom line.