Mr. Speaker, when I listen to the opposition member, I seriously wonder if we are really living in the same world and if, in the last year and a half, he has looked at the policies carried out by the present government.
First of all, when people on the other side of the House tell us that Quebecers elected them to make Quebec's independence, I think that is playing down the issues of the last election. Quebecers told us, in the last election, that they expressed their discontent at the ballot box, and it simply happened that the vote went heavily to the Bloc Quebecois.
Why discontent? There were years of Conservative government when an absolutely incredible debt and deficit were built up, and I point out that the hon. member who just spoke was part of that government and voted for all its legislation. Moreover, there were years that resulted in the people losing confidence in the government machinery, in the public servants.
I think that, today, when we look at the polls in general and the work done by this government in the last few months, we can see clearly that the people of Canada and Quebec have regained this confidence, because we promised certain things during the last election campaign and we delivered, because these promises,
the economy and job creation, were of interest and concern to the people. Last year, 430,000 jobs were created, and we are still creating more.
So, essentially, in everything that my colleague has been saying about the debt and the fact that Quebec would simply go and beg for these things in Ottawa, we can see that it is the Bloc Quebecois that is trying to make sure Quebec is perceived that way. But that is totally untrue. Quebec has a large place in the Canadian federation. On the economic level, Quebec plays an extremely important role within the federation. And on this side of the House, we want to make sure that Quebec and the nine other provinces can first develop individually, but also within the Canadian federation and according to major international trends, that they can develop together and excel on the international scene. That is our goal and we will succeed.