Mr. Speaker, would the hon. member not admit that what the federal government has done over the past five or six years is to download its responsibilities for Canadians in various social services to the provinces, and because of the belt tightening by the federal government the provinces have now had to download their responsibilities to the municipalities?
I do not believe there is a municipality in Canada that has not suffered from a lack of provincial funding in terms of municipal services. The provinces turn around and say that it is because of a lack of federal funding for the various concerns, whether it be infrastructure, education or health. Would the member not agree that that was basically the premise of the federal government?
Would he not agree that the $7 billion for this year alone taken from unemployed workers and employers who also pay that premium, money that does not belong to the federal government, is really the basis for the surplus of this budget?