Mr. Speaker, after the 1998 ice storm the Prime Minister authorized $717 million in relief. In the SARS outbreak he has authorized only $10 million for Toronto. He has the same legal authority now that he had in the ice storm. The difference is that he wanted to help in the ice storm. He could end this double standard very quickly.
When the government spent $100 million on two executive Challenger jets, it took only one day to submit the requisition, sign it and sign the contract. Why does the Prime Minister act more swiftly on his personal comfort than he does to help a city devastated by the SARS outbreak?