Madam Speaker, I could have taken time to exchange statistics with my colleague for Longueuil. I could have told him that, for example, in 1993, according to the last official statistics from the provincial and federal governments, Quebec received $41 billion from the federal government, whereas it returned only $29 billion in taxes. I could have showed him that, in recent years, up to 1993, Quebec received an additional $137 billion.
But I think all this rhetoric is in vain. He will say that we gave 19 per cent more to other provinces for research and development, but he will say nothing of the fact that, for instance, Quebec receives 50 per cent with regards to milk. He could also speak about the RCMP, which receives 17 per cent.
A federation is a system of balances. Sometimes, we get more, and sometimes less. That is why transfer payments exist. That is why the national capital exists. The entire national capital and the research centre are lumped in with Ontario. However, taking it out would mean a completely different set of figures. But I do not feel like fighting a battle over figures, even though I could have won very easily.
I only want to tell him that if Montreal's mayor himself-and he is certainly not a member of our party-believes that Montreal is being sapped and even killed by political instability, and if all
objective observers tell the same thing, one has to be deaf and blind not to believe it. Personally, I firmly believe that such is the truth.