Mr. Speaker, I have only a brief comment and a question for the leader of the Reform Party. Among the measures affecting farmers in the east contained in this budget, there is a cut of $32 million in funding for Quebec. Of course, the government has also made cuts affecting farmers in the west, for example the Crow rate, but it will also compensate farmers of that region to the tune of $2.9 billion.
This measure typifies what Quebec has a problem with in this country. Money is taken from some areas and given to others, and Quebec gets none of it. Before asking my question, I cite the energy sector in Canada and Quebec as an example of this. We have three kinds of energy: petrochemical, nuclear and electric. The government made massive investments, billions of dollars
worth, in petrochemical energy. Hibernia is an example of this. The federal government made massive investments in CANDU reactors. The federal government's cumulative investment in this project is $12 billion, of which Quebec paid 25 per cent. Nothing was ever invested in electricity in Quebec.
This is what we say. I think that what my hon. colleague meant when he said: "We're going to hit the wall quite soon", and I fully agree with him, is that he admonishes that we are on the verge of an apocalypse, and we Quebecers say that our personal apocalypse would be to stay in this system.
Can my hon. colleague tell us his point of view on the differences between how the west and Quebec are being treated?