Mr. Speaker, the hon. member has pressed a number of issues in my speech. With regard to the oil patch expenditures, while I agree that these have been made, they are nothing compared to the national energy program that took billions and billions of dollars out of Alberta.
I would not suggest, however, that we continue funding uneconomic programs, whether they be in oil or whatever commodity we are dealing with. With regard to the taxes on public as opposed to private, when the tax program was in place it was refunded directly by the private companies back to the consumer. In Alberta we have the majority of privately owned gas and electricity organizations. We are giving a tax free holiday to the publicly owned companies in Ontario and Quebec at the expense of Alberta and I believe Nova Scotia. This is grossly unfair to the consumer and to the average citizen in both of those provinces.
With regard to the comment on the CBC, let me deal with the historical aspect. I agree the CBC has played a significant role in the development of Canadian culture. We must remember that was back in the days when we had perhaps two, at most three television networks in the country.
The heritage committee right now is investigating the role of the CBC in a 500 channel universe. If we have a CBC which is costing $1.1 billion at a time when the government is rightly trying to restrict its expenditures, can we afford, when we are cutting back on health, when we are cutting back on education, can we afford the luxury-