Mr. Speaker, my question is directed to the Minister of Finance.
The budget tabled yesterday provides for additional cuts of $7 billion in payments to the provinces over the next three years. By transferring an additional $7 billion shortfall to the provinces, Ottawa is again downloading part of its deficit.
Would the Minister of Finance agree that the additional cuts his government has ordered in transfer payments to the provinces will inevitably cause either a reduction in services to the public or an increase in provincial taxes or a combination of both?