Mr. Speaker, last month the Liberal government reduced federal transfer payments to Saskatchewan by a further $244 million. With a stroke of a pen, Saskatchewan's budget surplus has been wiped out.
Saskatchewan was the first province in Canada to produce a balanced budget without hurting those in need. This latest Liberal action will hurt those in need most.
Provinces have been under constant attack from the Liberal government's cutting of transfer payments. The Liberals' slashing of post-secondary education funding means higher education will only be available to wealthy families.
The reduction in transfer payments to the provinces is damaging to Canada's inter-generational and inter-regional sharing. Forcing young Canadians to pay more for their post-secondary education could cause them to lose sympathy for their elders. We ought not be surprised if soon these young people in turn demand that other generations, such as seniors, finance their own social and economic needs on a pay as you go basis as well.
Is this the Liberal vision for Canada, pitting one generation against the other?