Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. It is a very good question. In fact, it is the first time that the government proposes such a bill.
We must not let ourselves be taken in by what is happening here. I believe that everybody, whether in Quebec or Canada, understands that we cannot go on like this. The government is a two headed monster, as has been said many times before. There is one Prime Minister who is here and says one thing, and then there is a second prime minister, who remains in the background, like a ghost, and says no, this is not going to happen. Given this deadlock, no one is sure of what will happen. We are being forced to put a stop to the business of the House, because nothing is working any more.
I sit on the Standing Committee on Finance, which is supposed to be the most powerful of all committees. We are holding prebudget consultations. At present, it is a bogus committee. Even the witnesses tell us they have talked with the member for LaSalle—Émard and he said he would do this or that.
The current Minister of Finance cannot promise to bring down a budget, because he does not have the power to do so. There is nothing. Despite all the bills tbeing introduced and all the announcements being made, we do not know what will happen, if the future prime minister decides he is not interested and does not want things to go in any given a way. So, how can Parliament go about its business and maintain some credibility?
I understand some senior officials, who think that equalization might be threatened, that is, that the provinces might not receive their cheque on Mars 31. So this bill has been introduced as a kind of insurance policy. From one day to the next, we do not know what is going to happen here.
Therefore, the current Prime Minister should leave quickly and the other one should tell us what he thinks and what his interpretation is, so that can question him.