Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to ask a question of my colleague on her comments, which I agree with. She probably knows better than most the impact of this budget on Conservatives in Nova Scotia.
I am sure she has seen in the paper today that the vaunted Conservative candidate who was going to run against her in Halifax is having second thoughts. I do not think that she is quaking in her boots at the thought of any Conservative winning in Halifax, but Jane Purves is a good, strong, capable woman. She would be a strong candidate for the Conservatives and she is having second thoughts. I think one of the reasons she is having second thoughts is she sees the absolute lack of understanding the government has for Atlantic Canadians. She stood with Dr. Hamm when he negotiated the offshore accords.
I was very dismayed this morning when I heard the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance talk about previous fiscal arrangements being gerrymandered. She used the terms “disjointed” and “knee-jerk” in terms of the offshore accord and other fiscal arrangements. That is an absolute clear admission that the Conservatives do not understand Nova Scotia, that they do not understand Newfoundland and Labrador.
Does my colleague think that the Atlantic accord was a gerrymandered, disjointed, knee-jerk fiscal arrangement?