Madam Speaker, I would like to follow up on my colleague's question in the same area. In her speech the member said that this is not about downsizing. We can all agree with that. There is nothing the past two governments have done in this country over the last 15 years that has been downsizing. Everything they have done has created more jobs for people in the bureaucracy so I am not too concerned about that area.
The member said that it is not harmonizing through the back door, that it is not being forced and that it is a choice. She quoted a minister from one of our smaller provinces who said that where efficiencies were to be gained they would look at it.
This government has been looking at it with the provinces for over 18 months. It does not have the definite agreement of Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta, which is the overwhelming majority of this country. The government will not get those agreements even once the act is in place.
As my colleague said in his question, with the election coming up in Quebec, this is another little thing we can throw in the fire to show that this country is not working in the way the people and the provinces want it to work. They do not want a bigger federal government with bigger federal government agencies. The provinces want to run their own business. They do not want these kinds of agencies and they have told the government that.
The government has had a consultative process. The government says that it is listening. When the majority of provinces are saying they do not want this, why is the government proceeding with a bill that is going to change the face of this thing, probably create a lot more jobs in the federal bureaucracy, but not solve any problems for Canadians and the provinces? It will not give any more power to the provinces which is what the provinces want.
This is not consultation. This is big brother telling the rest of us what we should be doing in the provinces.