Mr. Speaker, let us suppose that, tomorrow, the federal government were to convert all cash transfers to Quebec into tax points—it will not do so, but let us suppose for a moment that it did—what would happen?
The Quebec government would say that today the federal contribution to health and education is nil. But the real contribution of these transferred tax points would be equal to what it is today. Thus, what separatists are asking us to do is to indicate that our contribution to the provinces is nil, according to them, even though, in terms of funds lost by the federal government, it would be the same thing.
This is why I say that this is a separatist idea, one that the federal government would be absolutely crazy to follow. And this is why I also say that we will not do so.