Madam Speaker, I would like to ask some questions about western diversification.
The hon. member has mentioned some success stories, at least in his mind they are success stories, and I would like to ask about some other people, for example the local owner of a sausage plant in my constituency who has been competing and been struggling but he is making a go of it. This family business as a sausage plant has had to compete with a sausage plant down the road that has received western diversification money. This is unfair competition with his tax dollars that he has paid to the government to help support the competition.
I would like to ask the hon. member if he feels that is fair.
What about the two local businesses, the largest businesses in our neighbouring town, that are funded through western diversification, both now out of business and have left the town grasping for something to replace them and it is not there.
What about the swather manufacturing business in Saskatchewan, a very successful business, which was forced to compete against a swather manufacturing plant funded with western diversification money. The result was they both went out of business because of this unfair competition.
I would like to ask the hon. member what about those businesses and what about Albertans who have paid $100 billion to $165 billion more in tax dollars through the national energy program and through transfer payments to the federal government than they received over the past 25 years. Is it fair to those Alberta taxpayers to be funding these programs in other provinces?