Mr. Speaker, I think my colleague gave an excellent speech. Judging by the total lack of heckling on the Liberal side, I think that stands, does it not? Not a member over there made a single objection.
I would like to ask my colleague to clarify one thing. The principle of equalization is stated in the Constitution. He would probably want to indicate very clearly that our party believes in that principle and that we would like to make it more fair.
I recall a number of years back, when I was a member of the finance committee, looking at the whole question of equalization. There was an anomaly for Manitoba. It lost around $50 million because the people of that province did not buy enough lottery tickets. Lotteries are one of the factors included in this formula. It was deemed that it could have raised so much revenue if it sold so many lottery tickets. The people of Manitoba, being super wise, decided not to buy very many lottery tickets and lost money.
There are these anomalies and I think this is what my colleague was trying to say. We believe in equalization, but we want to make it fair and a more rational process.