Mr. Speaker, before the agreement, it was fully recognized by the courts that the federal government had the right to announce a social or health program in a budget and tell the provinces that they could have the money if they met certain national standards.
With this agreement, the federal government may no longer take such unilateral action. It must consult the provinces and territories, obtain the support of a majority, stick to objectives, not launch programs unilaterally and let provinces that have already met the objective use the money for something else.
The premier of Quebec has a choice: stay away, or work with the other—