Mr. Speaker, I would like to reassure my learned colleague that, indeed, collection of the GST and QST is working well in Quebec. But the federal government did not have to fork out $961 million for it either.
The Government of Quebec willingly harmonized the taxes; it was not ordered to. It acted on its own, as it quite capable of doing, and as the maritimes, apparently, are not.
Under federal government schedules, the Government of Quebec should be entitled to fair compensation for the work it did on its home ground that benefits the federal government. As always, Quebec will not be compensated, but the maritime provinces will be.