Thank you, Mr. Chair.
My first question will be for Mr. Robson.
When you talk about fiscal capacity, Alberta was a recipient of the federal equalization program once—in 1964, over 60 years ago. Since that time, there has been over $600 billion in fiscal transfers between Alberta and the rest of the country—$600 billion over about 60 years. That included periods when Alberta was suffering far worse than the rest of the country in terms of unemployment and the deficits it was incurring to deliver services to its citizens, and yet the transfer of funds never ceased from Alberta to the rest of the country.
Do you consider it a fair equalization system when even one of the suffering provinces doesn't get money back to serve its citizens and support its social services?