Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Finance.
Cuts in transfer payments to the provinces announced in the last federal budget will mean a $650 million shortfall for Quebec next year. By 1997-98, the shortfall in Quebec caused by federal cutbacks will range anywhere from $1.2 to $1.9 billion, depending on the distribution method.
Now that the referendum is over, can the Minister of Finance tell us on what basis he plans to distribute the Canada social transfer among the provinces and if he still intends, as suggested in his budget speech, to use population as a criterion, which would mean that more than 40 per cent of all cuts made in Canada would be made in Quebec alone?