Mr. Speaker, all Canadians and all taxpayers will, I am sure, be delighted to hear that the minister is in Europe to meet with his European counterparts. However, it is not in Europe that the plan will be drawn up and it is not in Europe that the minister will convince Canada's provincial premiers that the plan is acceptable. That work must be done here.
Mr. Speaker, will the Deputy Prime Minister admit that Ottawa and the provinces have reached an impasse on the question of social program reform, given that in such fields as health, the provinces refuse to bear the burden for the federal government's financial decision to off-load its deficit onto their shoulders, while at the same time, the federal government wants to force the provinces to comply with national standards?