Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend, who is very knowledgeable about this, for pointing that out.
It points to the political hazard that occurs when the federal government gets involved with big pools of money like this, ostensibly money that is supposed to look after the retirement incomes of Canadians. Inevitably the government starts to consider what is best for it as a political outcome. That is the problem. That is why we advocate that this money should be disbursed. That is why we have advocated this idea of Canadians owning their own accounts to some degree. The money should be disbursed because the government inevitably uses taxpayers' money for reasons other than what it initially was designed for.
If the point is to enhance retirement incomes, to ensure that Canadians get the best possible return, to ensure that disabled Canadians get the best possible pension, then how can the government justify below market rates of interest to the provinces in this plan, just like it was in the last plan? The problem is that it has forgotten what this money is for and it is starting to use it for its own political interests. That is the problem.