Mr. Speaker, in 1991, Quebec acted in good faith and complied with the federal government's request to harmonize its sales tax with the GST. It did so without any compensation. By comparison, three maritime provinces will get a gift of $1 billion from the federal government, including $250 million paid by Quebec taxpayers.
How can the Minister of Finance explain that Quebec, which set an example of economic efficiency for the rest of Canada by harmonizing its sales tax with the GST, and which contributed to the smooth running of the Canadian economic and trade union, is being penalized, while provinces that had so far refused to harmonize their taxes are being rewarded?