Mr. Speaker, I wish to thank my hon. colleague for his question. No, I do not believe that additional closures of federal installations in Quebec would be detrimental to Quebec. One has to understand that any federal investment in Quebec is tied to taxation. Whether we take our tax dollars and send them to Ottawa only to have them reinvested in the province, or whether we spend them ourselves, it is really all one and the same thing.
However, I would point out to him that there is quite a difference between receiving one million for research and development, and receiving one million for unemployment insurance. If we were the masters of our own destiny, we could take the one million and invest it in research and development, rather than spend it on unemployment insurance. Then, we would be able to put everyone to work.