My friend says "good weather". Yes, perhaps we get good weather and we are happy for that. However, I am thinking of things more to do with the federal government at this point. I know it lays claim to all sorts of things but the weather of Canada would not be one.
Is there a single federal program in which the government participates with the Government of British Columbia in which the people of British Columbia get their fair share? I could present a long list with the figures of where we do not. I do not believe that is necessary. I simply want to make the point.
Even within that climate, even recognizing that I do not think there is a single federal program in which British Columbia receives its fair share, at least based on population, we still do not begrudge the fact that we are going to be participating in this equalization program.
In all my years as a member of Parliament and in all the discussions I have had with my constituents and others, I have never heard anybody complain about the willingness to share. I hear a lot about getting the short end of the stick, or getting skewered or all sorts of other fancy names we could put to that in terms of our fair share regarding the federal government. However I will let that stand for the moment. There will be other opportunities to raise this.
I simply want to say in closing that I appreciate having the chance to participate in this debate. However I do not want to get into the Reform Party schtick of saying: "Mary Bloggs from this town asked me to raise this question". I have been asked to at least raise the question on behalf of the city of Vancouver in terms of what it perceives to be an unfairness. It certainly is not unique to the city of Vancouver or unique to any particular city. It is regarding immigration policy.
The federal government establishes its immigration policy. The minister of immigration indicated the other day a new set of quotas or limits on the numbers, acknowledging that a major share of those immigrants end up in the greater Vancouver area. Then it is left to the school boards and the taxpayers of Vancouver to the pick up the necessary language training and and so on, at least to a certain extent.
The government is asking for some consideration. With the reality of immigration in certain selected parts of Canada, should there not be more attention given by the federal government to acknowledge that and to assist and co-operate in terms of providing the appropriate services for new Canadians?
To be fair, I acknowledge that there are programs that work toward that end but when it comes to English language training or teaching English as a second language, particularly in our school system, the costs are becoming over burdening.
I simply want to conclude by saying that I have been pleased to participate in this debate. I look forward, particularly at committee, to see a more thorough examination of the some the points raised by my hon. friends and I look forward to third reading debate some time the future.