Mr. Speaker, one of the areas that is changing dramatically in Atlantic Canada is natural resource development. There is natural gas development in Nova Scotia and the Hibernia project in Newfoundland. We would hope that in the not too distant future these provinces would actually be have provinces.
I do not honestly believe that equalization payments contribute to dependency. When I speak of social spending policies I am not talking about income support, I am talking about education, health care and so on.
Those areas do not represent a dependency. They represent a basic quality of life that is required for anyone to succeed. If we want Nova Scotians to succeed we need to provide enough funding for a strong education system and for a good health care system.
The hon. member raises the very important issue of dependency. We must consider whether the government has over the past 30 years, in trying to protect Atlantic Canadians from the risks of the future, actually prevented some Atlantic Canadians from participating fully in the opportunities of the future.
He does have a point. I would suspect that some of the policies which have been implemented have not been successful. Equalization in itself, as a policy, has actually had some level of success in at least providing a level of opportunity for those people to succeed either in those provinces or to go elsewhere. In particular, young people need to be provided with a sound footing to get them through the first years.
I agree with the hon. member that we need an industrial strategy. We need something that can actually harness the powers of the free market in a global environment so that all Canadians can succeed. However, that cannot be done simply through equalization. It cannot exist in isolation from other government policies and leadership in other areas. Frankly, that is what is really lacking at this point.