Mr. Speaker, it is very unfortunate that the hon. member does not understand that when agreements are made with provinces there is an ongoing process of consultation.
The moneys that are going to be spent in Nova Scotia, as is the case with any other funds expended on behalf of the Canadian taxpayers, are subject to very stringent review both by the Auditor General of Canada as well as our department when we are reviewing those expenditures.
I know the hon. member is new to the House. It is true he has been up three or four times-and it shows-but the problem he has is in addressing questions like this using words like misappropriation of funds. If the hon. member were a little bit more careful he would understand that misappropriation of funds has implications that go far beyond a simple renegotiation of a contract to allocate funds for highway construction in any province.
Therefore, I ask the hon. member to reconsider that kind of insinuation.