I know there will be a meeting in December, but the provinces are not satisfied with the discussions thus far. At the first meeting, the provinces said that sharing cannabis tax revenues on an equal basis was not acceptable. Two weeks ago, the Department of Finance published a draft bill and a consultation document, asking the provinces once again what they think of equal sharing. It is as though the department had not understood a thing from the discussions.
As a result, I am not confident that the Minister of Finance will understand, at the consultations in December, that the provinces want more than 50% of the revenues. During that meeting in December, he will simply maintain his position that revenues should be shared equally, regardless of what the provinces say. He will attend the meeting, but he will not listen to what is being said. He will have made his decision and will act accordingly, whether the provinces like it or not.
The purpose of amendment NDP-1 is to arrive at a mutual agreement of principles and objectives. The proposed measure in this amendment would prevent the minister from unilaterally maintaining the equal sharing of revenues, which is what he wants. It would require him to reach some kind of agreement with the provinces, whether mutual or consensual. Reaching an agreement is important, regardless of the type of agreement.
The government will push ahead with its agenda and sign one-off agreements with each province, as it did with health transfers. That is the approach of a government that imposes its ideas. It holds consultations—bravo!—, but they serve no purpose because it does not listen; it keeps pushing and signs. The government holds consultations and it looks good, but it does not budge from its position. This is what happened in the past and it will happen again this time.