Madam Speaker, I want to remind the hon. member that we spend $351 million a year in the Quebec region for aboriginal people. We spent $980 million on the Crees, $552 million on the Inuit and $69 million on the Naskapi, for a total of $1.6 billion.
We already gave Quebec $450 million for education.
Maybe I should not bother to mention it but $450 million of our money went to Quebec on education.
The Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs has expressed the problem we have. Quebec is saying that the Government of Canada owes 50 per cent but we have no say on the amount of money spent. We have no say vis-à-vis education with the province of Quebec. It will call the shots. That is not partnership. That is: "I am doing it. I will send you the bill and you pay it".
At the same time, I wrote to Madam Beaudoin in April saying that I would put my senior officials at the table to see if there is common ground. We will count the various moneys owing to see if we can find a just solution. The Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs has done the same thing but he has gone further and has met with her. We are trying to do this in a practical manner.
I tend to agree with the Reform Party on one point. There are a lot of games being played here today. The issue is not what is owing to Quebec, the issue is separation. No matter which way we cut it, this is it.
The problem I am having is that the onus is not on this government to prove why separation is better. The Bloc is having a difficult time with it. It is having a difficult time explaining to Quebecers how they will be more sovereign if Quebec separates.
The reality is that with GATT, with NAFTA, with what we are doing with aboriginal people and within the cultural community, there is more sovereignty for Quebecers under federalism. There is more. They are starting to realize that. The Bloc is failing in its argument. It is up to its members to put their argument and convince Quebecers, not us.