Mr. Speaker, I am always surprised to hear the Reform Party or the Liberal Party treat us as if we were beggars, as if we are asking for some kind of charity.
We are not begging for anything, far from it. We are only asking the federal government for what is rightfully ours, our part of the pie, the part that we sent to Ottawa. Through our taxes, we send enormous amounts of money to Ottawa. All we want is our due. Furthermore, we want the federal government to meet its commitments.
The federal government does not keep its promises. A good example of that is the health care system. When we introduced the health care system in Quebec, the federal government wanted to meddle in, so they said: "We want to impose our standards". In order for Quebec to accept that, they added: "We will pay 50 per cent of all the health care costs in Quebec".
Now the federal government pays only 30 per cent of the costs and we have to pay the remaining 70 per cent. It must be made clear that all the standards and structures were implemented on the grounds that the federal government would pay 50 per cent of the costs, not 30 per cent as it does now. Can you imagine what kind of management nightmare this creates for Quebec?
All we ask is that the federal government accept its own responsibilities. We are not begging, we are not asking for gifts, far from it. We are just saying to the federal level: "At least give us back the money we send to you". We are only asking for justice. All we ask is that the federal government carries out its promises.
This is why we have been saying for many years now: "Since you will not fulfil your commitments, we will levy all our own taxes and we will send you whatever we see fit". That is their attitude towards us, and that is why we want sovereignty. We do not want to be beggars, we want the federal government to keep its promises and it does not.
That is what I wanted to convey to the Reform Party member. He seems to know little about history. He is trying to convince the Canadians that Quebecers are beggars. We are not beggars. We only want what is rightfully ours, and we want respect.