Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs keeps saying that Canada is one of the most decentralized federations in the world and that Quebec's distinctiveness is fully recognized. Yet, since 1996, Ottawa has implemented at least seven new programs for which an equivalent program already existed in Quebec.
How does the minister explain that Quebec was not entitled to opt out when Ottawa established the Canada child tax benefit, the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the health transition fund, the research centres of excellence program, the Canada prenatal nutrition program, the Canada millennium scholarships, the employability assistance program for people with disabilities—