Mr. Speaker, the leader of the Reform Party has a tendency, I am sure due to a difficulty in the research department, to ask the same question time and time again.
He has asked this question before. I have said to him that at the last meeting of the finance ministers we discussed this very issue and their was complete agreement on the need for co-ordination, that it made no sense for governments to fill in tax room, one on the other in either way. We will continue to co-operate in that way.
Eight provinces have either balanced their budgets or are looking to balance their budgets, absolutely. One of the reasons is that in the transfers to the provinces established by the federal government we have provided a formula for growth.
If the federal government had followed the policies of the Reform Party to slash and eviscerate those transfers, those provinces would not be able to balance their books.