Mr. Speaker, we can get into a great history lesson. We can go back to Sir Robert Borden in 1917 and talk about the temporary income tax. We can talk about Lester Pearson and Jean Lesage until we are blue in the face, but the reality remains, despite the member opposite not seeing it nor would he ever want to, the government does not step in on other jurisdictions.
The government has a solid, sound record of respecting other jurisdictions; Quebec, Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, I can name any and we respect them. We make sure the divisions of power are inherent, unlike the Bloc members opposite who want to rip apart the federation. They want to destroy the jurisdiction. They want to keep chipping away every time and every way they can to bring Canada down yet another notch.
There are those on this side and most Canadians, including Quebecers, who will have no part of that. They want to get with other things such as providing food, shelter and clothing for their children. They want to get with the business of carving out good lives for themselves, whether they live in Baie-Comeau, St. John's, Newfoundland or Victoria.
Canadians wherever they live respect the integrity of the government's ability to put us on a sound fiscal good judgment basis, and as a result provide good government and in the process give the tax points and cash transfers required for the provinces to carry out their jurisdictional responsibilities in areas like the environment, health and education.
With all due respect to everyone involved, the beauty of this great federation is our ability to manage, be flexible and do the kinds of things Canadians want, wherever they live in this great country, a country that others in the world respect and say is second to none. That is what we do on a constant basis. Why do we do it? We do it for our families, our neighbours, our communities and our country. At the end of the day that is precisely what Canadians want.
We can go off on tangents all we want in terms of too much power here or too much power there. The reality is, the federation has proven itself time and time again to work and work effectively. Is it perfect? No one ever said it was. Is it right all the time? No one ever argued it was. The reality is, this is a federation second to none in the world, worth celebrating, worth boasting about and worth defending. This side of the House will do it every time.