Mr. Speaker, the short answer is yes. Just to elaborate very briefly, the cuts by the government since 1993 in terms of transfer payments for health and other social programs are cause for the load provincial governments are now feeling.
I think, though, specifically of the cuts to the health protection branch, the dismantling of the drug safety bureau, the erosion of the food safety lab, and the inaction on contaminants and toxins in consumer products. All those cuts have meant that provincial governments, in order to act in the best interest of their citizens and to ensure a health protection system and a safety system are in place, are left to pick up the pieces.
Obviously they cannot do it on their own. We cannot continue to have a patchwork of systems across the country. We cannot continue to evade federal responsibility for something as vital as safe drinking water.