Mr. Speaker, the member is incorrect. He said the provinces did not have the money to put into health care. Mike Harris cut income taxes at a cost to the provincial treasury of $5 billion. The cuts to Ontario for health care were under $1 billion. It is a matter of priorities. In Alberta the Klein government is running surpluses and it cuts health care.
Why is it that a province can choose to give tax breaks, run surpluses, cut health care and blame the federal government? The Reform Party is suggesting in the alternative budget to cut $9 billion from spending on health care. The only way Reformers will pay for the spending on health care is that they make a wild assumption that the economy will grow by 5% a year.
When members are in opposition they can say a lot of platitudes and make lots of promises without having to articulate exactly how they will pay for them or how they will be delivered. That is the difference. Canadians understand and I think they reflected their understanding in the results of the election in Windsor—St. Clair when the Reform Party did not even get its deposit back.
Canadians will not stand for this nonsense of playing with numbers. Let us always give them the facts and let Canadians have an opportunity to understand those facts and decide. As far as I am concerned members of the Reform Party continue to give half the story and only the story that suits their own purpose.