Mr. Speaker, to understand this properly, one must look at the past. In fact, during the second world war, the provinces ceded part of their tax field to the federal government so that the latter could finance the war effort.
Since then, the provinces, particularly Quebec, have been fighting nonstop to recover their tax field. It is true that Quebec was able to regain part of its tax field during the 1960s when the federal government returned tax points to Quebec. But it was Quebec's tax field. The same thing happened in the 1970s: part of the tax points we ceded to the federal government during the second world war were returned to us.
That said, the battle is not over. Yesterday's budget makes this abundantly clear. When additional expenditures of $6.4 billion over the next five years can be announced in the course of one afternoon, it is a sign that the surpluses are astronomical and that part of the federal tax base could be given to the ten provinces, seven of which are currently having financial difficulties.
On the other hand, the fiscal imbalance is also due in large part to the fact that the provinces' responsibilities, which were perhaps less important when the Constitution was written than they are now—I am talking about health, the environment and education—are now the public's primary concerns.
The federal government is all alone now. All Canadians, particularly in Quebec, and all the commentators agree. All that remains is to convince the federal government. That is going to take some time. I know that it is hard to get the government to understand, but it will see logic in the end. The provinces will eventually recover these tax points so that they can assume their responsibilities. The public is already demanding it.
As for employment insurance, I cannot understand the member's reasoning. It is true that the premium rate has decreased over the past few years, but the government has nonetheless managed to build up a surplus of nearly $45 billion in the employment insurance fund. Let us not kid ourselves. The former Minister of Finance was able to balance his budget and build up a surplus on the backs of the unemployed, workers and small businesses. The current premium rate is unnecessary. At $2.10, the government will still have a surplus of $3 to $4 billion in the employment insurance fund. At $1.98, it will still generate a surplus between $2.5 and $3 billion. This is unacceptable. That is not the purpose of the EI fund. We are asking for the EI fund to be managed by those who contribute to it. The federal government got out of that business in 1989, and it should stay out.
They may say, yes, but there were deficits in the past. Well, there was never a $42 billion deficit. These are excuses and specious arguments. If the government wants to be honest, it should transfer the fund to the contributors and find another way to finance itself. It will have to forego $3 billion, part of its surplus. As I was saying earlier, before the measures announced yesterday, we thought that over the next two years the surplus would have been $25.8 billion. In the interests of common sense, they can certainly do without this $6 billion.