Madam Speaker, I was listening with interest to the member's speech. When Bloc members speak, I always wonder what happens to co-operative federalism which is that we all try to work together to create a better country. They always seem to say if everything is flowing toward Quebec they are happy and if it is flowing away to somebody else then they have a problem. I guess that is what they use to support their separatist position.
The point is this idea of the federal government's paying any province or the three Atlantic provinces the better part of a billion dollars to buy into the Minister of Finance's policy is quite repugnant. To think that Quebec would want to tie on to the same type of subsidy is just as repugnant for the separatists who want to get money for their province.
I would have thought that if this policy of a harmonized sales tax was a good policy, the provinces would have bought into it, the people in these provinces would have bought into it and the premiers of these provinces would have bought into it, but they did not. That is why we have had a long debate.
Then of course the Minister of Finance was adamant that it would be tax in pricing. When the other House went down to Atlantic Canada and held these hearings, we found out that the premiers there did not like tax in pricing, the people there did not like tax in pricing and now the other House is asking us to reconsider. In order for the Minister of Finance to accomplish his agenda, he acquiesced to a request from the other House so that it can all be put in place.
The member talked about the harsh period in the province of Quebec. Look around at the growing economies elsewhere. In the province of Ontario it is going to be booming next year. An article in the Globe and Mail this morning stated that the economy in Alberta, where I am from, is going to lead the country in growth. Surely if they would abandon this whole notion of separatism, work toward co-operative federalism where they can take advantage of their unique opportunities in Quebec, work with the rest of the provinces to build prosperity, to create jobs, to ensure government is the smallest we can have, then people can prosper.
Why does the hon. member keep talking about the harsh problems in Quebec when most of us realize that they are caused by the lack of confidence in Quebec, caused by the fact that there are so many separatists sitting here and we have a separatist party in the legislature in Quebec? If they would endorse co-operative federalism things would improve.