Mr. Speaker, as a former Liberal, I am used to Liberal rhetorical tricks and the Liberal approach to the truth. It is a very creative approach.
I must say that I was really quite astounded by this last speech by the hon. member who blamed the Ontario government for all the negative impact on the health care system there as a result of health care cuts.
Let us get a couple of facts absolutely straight here. This federal government, the government of that member, has cut health care transfers to the provinces by 35%, by several billion dollars, after promising and committing not to cut them but to increase them in the 1993 election. That government lied and now it is trying to pass the buck. It does not even have the integrity to admit that it made a mistake.
The hon. member claims that the Ontario government has cut health care spending. He knows, as a former member of the provincial legislature, that just ain't so. The total health care spending in Ontario has remained constant and is now projected to increase. It has not cut $1 from the universal health care budget of the province of Ontario.
He says that people are getting less quality care. Perhaps they are, because the Ontario government has had to absorb the transfer cuts from this government but not because of less revenue as a result of the tax cuts in Ontario. The Mike Harris tax cuts that have led to tens of thousands of new jobs have also led to an increase in revenues. Liberals do not understand that lower taxes mean more revenues. That is what has happened in the treasury of the Ontario government.
This member, being from Ontario, ought to apologize to his constituents for misleading them. The Ontario government has more revenues than it did—