Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague from Elk Island for that intervention. Intervention can be done in two ways. It can be done with a view toward the needs of the people involved or it can be done in a way that can be destructive. Intervention should be done on the basis of true need. Every intervention has an opportunity cost. The cost, as I mentioned in my speech, is money.
If we are to intervene, will that intervention benefit the Canadian public or cost us more than the actual intervention? We do not disagree with equalization, but we disagree that equalization must be done on the basis of true need. We cannot do it under some complex formula which nobody understands. Rather, the intervention has to take place on the basis of the need of the people, not on the basis of the fact that we want to somehow equalize all the provinces. That is very destructive and in fact counteractive in the long term.
We need to ensure that whatever moneys will be spent by the federal government will help individuals in need and, more important, will help them help themselves.