Madam Speaker, my friend makes a very convincing argument. First, I do speak for my party. No, we do not think it is fair. We think the point being made in today's opposition day debate is reasonable. There was an unfairness. The people of Quebec through their government were not treated equitably or fairly. They were not treated in the same fashion as the people in the three Atlantic provinces were treated.
However, he used the term compensation, which is a fair term. I use the term bribe. I do not believe that bribes are appropriate in any circumstance. I do believe that the provinces in Atlantic Canada were bribed quite frankly. It is a cruel and very brutal term but not believing in bribery I cannot say that knowing they were bribed we should probably bribe another province as well.
My friend's point is well taken. There was an injustice. Yes some provinces were treated differently from other provinces. More particularly the province of Quebec was not treated in the same way the other provinces were treated. They were given a bribe and Quebec was not.