Madam Speaker, ten minutes is a short time for a lot of people in this parliament, but especially for the member for Mercier who, obviously, had a lot more to say.
She opened a door at the very end of her speech. She had only one minute left when she raised the problem of funding for universities, a problem which was created in part by the federal government. Members will recall the drastic cuts in research and development, which had a particular impact on universities.
I would also like her to comment on the following: this morning, in a newspaper, there was an article about maternity leave. I was struck by the title of this article written by Jean-Jacques Samson, from Quebec City, with whom I do not always agree, but who really did put his finger on the problem. He pointed out that the federal government wants to show some generosity by extending maternity leave without changing UI eligibility rules but, at the same time, that we must not forget that it no longer contributes to the UI fund. Only employers and employees contribute to the fund.
Is the federal government not doing the same thing it did to the provinces, namely cutting transfer payments and using all kinds of schemes to look generous, trying to impress Canadians with other people's money?