Still, Mr. Speaker, it is a sad day when you hear the kind of things we are hearing in this House. Attempts were made to convince the people of Quebec that there are no benefits to belonging to the Canadian confederation and, every day since we reconvened, evidence of a total lack of understanding of what is going on in this country has been building up. People are blind. Politicians are blind.
We are criticized, on the one hand, for not making cuts, and on the other hand, for making cuts too soon. I think that our government acted responsibly. An overhaul was required in the health care system, because funding cuts are expected. Shortfalls of $650 million one year and $1.9 billion the next year add up to nearly $2.5 billion over two years. It seems to me that the thing to do for a responsible government is to plan ahead. But where I find fault with this government across the way is when it decides to stop paying but wants to keep controlling everything anyway.
When I was young and lived at home, I lived by the rules my father had set because he was providing me with room and board. But when I moved into my own apartment and had my own money, I lived by my own rules.
When you stop paying, you lose the right to tell others what to do with their money. You have no right stealing a jurisdiction away from others and telling them: "Its is yours, but we can do what we want with it." So little sensitivity and understanding and so much arrogance, contempt and affront coming from you, Sir, is unacceptable, under the present circumstances. We have had it.