Mr. Speaker, I would like to say that, to have a precise idea of how much the Department of National Defence spends in Quebec, you have to look at the facts carefully. It is obvious to me that my colleague opposite does not have all the facts.
It is true that defense expenditures will be cut in Quebec like in every other province over a period of four years, and not one year, as this was suggested.
At any rate, I would like to point out that defence spending in Quebec, including salaries, operations and maintenance, presently accounts for 22.2 per cent of overall defence spending and that, after four years of cuts, this percentage will only have been reduced to 21.5 per cent. This means that Quebec is being treated equitably.
As far as capital expenditures are concerned, Quebec always benefited from the larger share in Canada on account of its industry.