Thank you.
We share your concerns. It's difficult to understand why the government doesn't want to discuss health transfers at this time.
This issue has been around since before the pandemic. There's an imbalance between the federal and provincial governments in terms of health care funding. Health care spending is increasing more and more, even in Quebec. Officially, we've spent more than half the amount planned for health care programs. Several studies show that, by 2030, and even afterwards, this spending will increase more and more. If nothing is done, other government obligations such as education or the environment will need to be sacrificed.
We should have had this discussion yesterday, not today. Let's take the opportunity to have this discussion. All provinces and territories have this concern. We don't understand why the situation prevents us from talking about it. We have the figures to back this up and the reality has been well established. We too are looking for answers to this question.
When it comes to the environment, we welcome the investments made. This is a change from past policies. The idea was to show the importance of the environment and the need to do more.
However, we believe that more should be done to encourage changes in individual behaviour. Efforts could be made to implement green tax measures such as a carbon tax. I know that this is another hot topic right now. In Quebec, this measure has already been in place for several years and it's effective. We need to stop burying our heads in the sand. If we want to reach our targets, we need to change individual behaviour. Financial incentives to encourage people not to pollute have been proven effective. We think that the government should show even more political courage and take this route. Of course, it will shake people up and require behavioural changes, but I think that we've reached this point.