Well now, I would just like to reassure my fellow Quebecers on the adjustment formula and to explain to them most clearly that their acceptance of harmonization of the tax in 1990 was extremely fortunate for the Quebec economy. We were extremely happy to have that harmonization, and the adjustment formula implemented by the Minister of Finance does not penalize Quebec in any way. It does not penalize Quebec in any way because only provinces losing 5 per cent of their tax revenues are affected by that measure. We in Quebec, on the contrary, had additional revenues after we had harmonized the tax in 1990. The formula does not, therefore, penalize Quebec in the least, the opposite in fact. Whether it was done in 1990 or in 1996, Quebec has benefited from being the first to harmonize the taxes.
On the other hand, I wonder if my hon. colleague is aware that yesterday the Quebec Minister of Finance, Bernard Landry, said the following about the GST: "Strictly from the taxation point of view, this is good news, for more provinces will have a VAT from now on". Mr. Landry, the Quebec finance minister, thinks this is a very good thing, and I quote him again word for word: "This is a very good thing, having a VAT in the other provinces around us, for the fact that ours in Quebec is lower will be to our advantage. It places us in a competitive position; this is good for trade and harmonizes our economic space". That was the position of the Quebec Minister of Finance. I can tell you that I am most pleased that the Quebec finance minister is supporting our efforts toward an economy that is more competitive, more open to the world.