Mr. Speaker, the income security minister Jeanne Blackburn yesterday denounced in no uncertain terms the federal government's withdrawal of funding for provincial welfare, education and health programs. In spite of the $7 billion lost over three years due to federal cuts, the government of Quebec will still have to provide assistance to 240,000 children whose parents have turned to welfare as a last resort.
Like a blind executioner with an axe in hand, the federal government is hacking away at social programs without realizing the impact these cuts have on people. With a single stroke of the pen, Ottawa is forcing the Quebec government to make painful choices among social services without so much as suffering the terrible consequences of its decisions.
It is high time for Quebecers to protect themselves from such unilateral cuts. The only solution available to us is to repatriate the taxes we pay to Ottawa and then decide among ourselves how much of the joint assets we shall share.