Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
First of all, I would like to welcome our finance minister, Mr. Flaherty. I would just like to take a few seconds to say how upsetting I find it that the officials from his department are unable to speak French. As a minister and like all committee members, he has the right to use the official language of his choosing.
I noticed the same thing when the budget was tabled, when I was accompanied by my close associates. We could not get a single complete answer in French from the officials. I think it is quite simply because the Department of Finance of Canada operates exclusively in English.
My question for the minister is about a statement he made earlier. He talked about Ontario's share. He said Ontario was satisfied with its share of the $1 billion trust that was created. He mentioned $350 million.
I would like to know from the minister how he went about determining that this amount was fair. Does he consider Quebec's share to be fair?