Mr. Lessard, I can but give you the following answer: the bill does indeed seem to exempt Quebec from the obligation to respect the conditions as set out. As you mentioned on Tuesday, I believe, the bill does however require the establishment of an advisory council. In the area of constitutional law, Parliament is sovereign. As long as it respects the Constitution, obviously, it has the power to determine the requirements to be set out. Here, in exercising its sovereignty, the federal Parliament has decided to exclude Quebec from the ambit of this bill. Quebec is not subject to these conditions, but is nevertheless entitled to full compensation for the costs of its child care program.
It is to my mind self-evident that this advisory council's mandate entails providing advice to the minister and, should the occasion arise, to Parliament. If this council deemed that the exemption granted to Quebec was not in compliance with federal requirements, then it would have all of the discretional authority necessary to recommend that the law be changed in order to remove this exemption. Parliament being sovereign, it is free to follow or not follow the recommendations of the advisory council.