Mr. Speaker, I would caution our colleague from Anjou—Rivière-des-Prairies against overly simplistic reasoning, which has a tendency to cloud the basic issues.
No one in Quebec, not its minister of finance, not the Bloc Quebecois members, not the Minister of Health, wishes to see another debate on the reorganization of health services, and the hon. member is well aware of this. As for what our colleague has said about the supposedly dormant funds, I wish to repeat what the Quebec minister of finance has already stated.
Quebec has made a considerable effort, through careful use of its surplus in an extremely difficult exercise of managing public funds. It kept these monies in trust as a contingency reserve fund, reminding us that next year's demand on the health system will be around 13.5% higher.
The lesson that needs to be taken from this is that the Government of Quebec has allocated a very considerable amount of resources to operating and maintaining the Quebec health system, and that the amounts it can fund independently are insufficient.
I am asking for some honesty from the hon. member. At the time of the budget speech, I met a former minister of this House, Brian Tobin, in the lobby. How is it that all provinces, regardless of political allegiance, even if they are represented by former federal Liberals, are demanding restoration of the transfer payments of the federal government? Is the hon. member not a bit rattled by seeing such a common front as is rarely seen in federal-provincial diplomacy?
I am appealing to the good faith and good will of the hon. member for Anjou—Rivière-des-Prairies.