Mr. Speaker, if the member would look back at the speech I made with the announcement, he will see that I set out the formula for compensation to the Atlantic provinces, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
At the same time, I explained why Quebec, Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta would not be receiving compensation. They did not lose over 5 per cent of sales tax revenues. The reason is quite clear.
We are prepared to compensate a province if losses are involved. The hon. member will understand that, if no losses are involved, there will be no compensation. Quebec has all the information. We gave them not only our figures, but the provinces' as well.
I am prepared to sit down with the hon. member, as we did with the officials of the Quebec ministry of finance, to explain exactly how the formula works.