Mr. Speaker, the hon. member does not, unfortunately, understand how the equalization system works. It depends on fiscal capacity, not the taxes collected by a province, but its fiscal capacity.
So, right at the beginning, there will be a slight drop in equalization payments to the Atlantic provinces. Eventually, with the growth of economic activity and with job creation, there will be another drop. This is good for the Atlantic economy. The hon. member is, unfortunately, in error.
I would like to quote Mr. Landry, the Quebec Minister of Finance. From a strictly taxation point of view, speaking of the harmonization with the Atlantic provinces, Mr. Landry said: "This is good news, because more provinces will have a VAT in future".