Mr. Speaker, of course, this debate we are having today, members and ministers of previous governments have already had it. Legislation has been passed since 1919 that basically encroaches on provincial areas of jurisdiction.
That is not what the constitution of 1866 intended. What it intended was for the provinces to have full and complete jurisdiction over health, education and manpower training. I think that what is happening-When I look at the federal government's expenditures, I think that the problem comes from the federal spending power.
Federal spending for 1995-96 is $1.5 billion for operations, $347 million for personnel and $703 million for goods and services. If this money had been transferred to the provinces, Quebec and the other provinces would have had more money for health care, and would not have had to impose budgetary restraints and to cut back personnel and services at the taxpayers' expense.
What do you do at a forum? You discuss. You try to find a way to sing the same tune as the other provinces. But in the end, as minister Rochon pointed out in the Quebec national assembly, all that the provinces do at meetings and federal-provincial conferences is complain about not having enough money. There are costs involved with holding forums and conferences. When you do not have enough money, you stop discussing and start acting.
And in acting, you need money to follow these actions through. I think that agonizing choices lie ahead. Quebec's goal has always been to provide a safety net in several areas such as social services, health and education.
The federal government is driving us back against the wall by providing less funding. Federal transfers to the provinces have been reduced by $8 billion. Who does the public turn to? To the one making the cuts, the one that says: "We will not be improving services this year because we do not have enough money. Instead, we will be downsizing". As a result, employees too are concerned.
I think that I am not the first person to make this point. Since 1919, other parliamentarians, from Taschereau to Jean Lesage, have made it before me. I think that there must be some truth in what we say. I cannot understand the federal government. We have to keep hitting it with the same arguments over and over again. What a waste of time. Time has come to act. And to act, we need money.