Mr. Calvert, I want you to have your say, but I also want to get to the issues that I think are important, because I think you're right, the issue is fairness. The fact of the matter is—and you know this and it has been bandied about—that if what you are asking for is given to Saskatchewan, it would be really unfair to other provinces who are not receiving any money from the equalization program. You know that. I know that. The equalization program, by its very definition of “equal”, is a program to allow provinces to have equal fiscal capacity.
The fact of the matter is that you say there was no mention of a cap when this was discussed in election rhetoric. But there was no mention that there would not be a cap either. I think it's fair to say that a reasonable person would not assume that any province, even one as deserving and wonderful as Saskatchewan, would be able to access a program in such a way that it would create unfairness in that program, that it would give Saskatchewan a higher fiscal capacity than provinces that are not receiving anything from the program.
Here we have—and I think you're proud of this—an economy in Saskatchewan that's very hot right now. In fact, your finance minister is proud of that. I'm sure you are. The equalization program is to help provinces whose economies are not so hot. And of course, in addition to the equalization program, there is a whole raft of federal transfers, which really enrich Saskatchewan. I won't take time to read them, but you're aware of that.
So my question is can you tell Canadians across the country why you would want to use a program that's supposed to make provinces equal to make you more equal, to have an unfair advantage because of that program?