Madam Speaker, I am not sure whether I have enough time to give the hon. member a detailed reply, but he is right that the percentage of the defence budget spent in the province of Quebec is lower, simply because there was a lot of construction in the maritime provinces during World War II.
I must point out, however, that as a result of major cuts in the rest of the country, after this budget the percentage of military spending in Quebec will have increased. It was 19 per cent yesterday, and today it is 22 per cent, even after closing the Collège militaire royal and part of the base in Saint-Jean.
I appreciate his reasoning that Quebec is not getting its fair share, but that is a result of its geographic location in this country. If we had cut 25 per cent we would have had close the Valcartier base in Quebec City or perhaps Bagotville. If we had followed the recommendations of the Bloc Quebecois with budget cuts of 25 per cent, there would have been more drastic cuts.
This is not a good time for Quebec, but it is not a good time either for other provinces, especially in the Atlantic region. I think Quebecers will appreciate they have done their share to fight the deficit by taking these cuts in the defence budget.