Mr. Speaker, the federal government did withdraw from health and post-secondary education. As we speak, it is contributing 14¢, perhaps 15¢, on every dollar spent. With the investments announced, its contribution might rise to 16%, or 16¢.
That is very far from what it was at the time when the system was put in place, and still far from what the provinces and the Séguin commission are recommending.
The federal government will have no choice: either it reinvests massively in transfers for health—because we now know that there will be such a thing—or it will have to give tax points back to the provinces and let them manage them as they see fit for health care.
There is a democratic problem. From the moment that the provinces depend on the federal government for health care, the legislative assemblies, including the National Assembly of Quebec, can no longer take action on the democratic choices of the people of Quebec, and this is also true of the other provinces.
We are gearing up for an election in Quebec. There will be a debate on health care. Voters in Quebec will make choices. The National Assembly may not be able to afford to take action on the choices made with respect to health care, and this is unacceptable.
The same goes for to education. The federal government did not add a cent for the provinces in the budget. Of course, there is a new grants and loans program and all that, but the provinces are still getting only 8¢ out of every dollar for education.
In closing, a change was introduced with the creation of separate envelopes for health and for social programs and education. I think it will be necessary to review the financing, as was done for social assistance a few years ago. For each dollar that Quebec put into social assistance, the federal government used to put in an equal amount. It was possible then to show imagination and creativity, and we did not have to scrounge around for every dollar, as the federal government is forcing us to do now.