Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance may wish to refer to certain statements by the ministers, including the minister from Quebec who said that this approach would become a disaster for Quebec in 1996.
Would the Minister of Finance agree that his decision to postpone until next year the drastic cuts he intends to make in transfer payments to the provinces for social programs financing was made in order to avoid weakening the federal position on the eve of the referendum? Will he be frank and forthright and admit that major cuts are to be postponed until next year, for purely political reasons?