Mr. Speaker, generally on opposition days the government asks the first question, when it thinks it has a good position. There is not much chance it will be asking any today. It is not putting questions to us because it is aware that it does not have a leg to stand on as far as health is concerned.
I will list a number of facts. I am sure that my colleagues from the rest of Canada, whether Reform, Conservative or NDP, will have similar comparisons to make.
Out of the $6.3 billion, there is a social transfer cut to Quebec of $1.603 billion. Most people do not have billions in their pockets. Perhaps the ship-owner minister playing around with these figures does, but certainly not the average person.
One billion represents 20% of the cost of all hospitals in Quebec. Or, it represents the closure of half the hospitals in Montreal. It also represents 370,000 people hospitalized. Or the pay of one-half of the nurses in Quebec. Or the cost of all the CLSCs; $924 million, almost a billion. Or twice the cost of all services provided to young people in Quebec, which is $500 million.
Those are the facts. They are more than just cold figures. In the speech the Minister of Finance will be giving us in February, he will surely say “I have done far better”. As if we did not know where the surplus had come from. It is unbelievable that, in three weeks, he did not notice $10.4 billion. I am sure he pays more attention to detail when his ships are involved. For this minister his ships count more than all the people of Quebec and of Canada put together.
That is why we are saying they are arrogant and cynical. They are not facing up to their responsibilities. To do so would be to expose the truth and to say “Yes, we accumulated this surplus on the backs of the most disadvantaged members of society, the unemployed, the ill. But we will present a special measure. We will immediately put $2 billion back into health and we will let the provinces administer it.” As long as it is health that is concerned, everyone will accept that.
There is no question of “Ottawa knows best”. That does not work. Every time Ottawa interferes in things that do not concern it, it does not work. We have had the experience of “flex-o-matic” ministers cutting where it hurts. Well, we do not need any more of that.