Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Hochelaga—Maisonneuve for his question. I think he has hit it on the head.
With all due respect, I think he would have been in a much better position than I to give excellent examples of how these supplies, which are about to be approved for the other place and the usefulness of which still seems a bit nebulous right now, could be better spent.
In Quebec, we already have the feeling we are paying for two structures. We are paying for a provincial member and for a federal member. We are even paying for a senator who represents each of our regions. Each senator in Quebec represents what is called a Senate division. I doubt there is anyone in Quebec who has the slightest idea which senator is responsible for the Senate division in which he lives, since these people are completely absent from the political scene in Quebec.
That said, as a more direct reply to the question by my colleague from Hochelaga—Maisonneuve, certainly reference could be made to a number of issues that have been addressed in this House in recent months and recent weeks, particularly employment insurance.
The government diverts billions of dollars from the employment insurance fund, supposedly to cover increased expenses, like eradicating the deficit, while it would be far easier to get it hands on some $50 million or $54 million in the other place, instead of dipping into the pockets of the unemployed, the workers and the employers across Canada.
Needless to say, it is unacceptable that while social transfers to the provinces are being cut forcing the provinces to make some really hard decisions on social and health services and post-secondary education, we would continue to hand over $50 million annually to this institution that is right next to ours.
This government needs to make some societal choices. At the moment, the government seems to lean as much to the right as the whole of Canada does as far as the directions it is taking are concerned. The choices made by this government are totally unacceptable. They leave the least advantaged in a precarious and difficult situation and continue to maintain this sort of living dinosaur.