Mr. Speaker, to equate the former minister of finance with the Canadian Alliance is so delusional that I cannot understand it. The former finance minister was the one who, in conjunction with the Prime Minister and the government, brought in the national infrastructure program. It is because of the former finance minister, the government, and the Prime Minister that we have a program. Had we continued to languish under the Tories, we never would have had that.
The fact is that the motion says “on an agreement with provinces”. To date, we have not seen one province that is prepared to share that kind of money. I will give an example. In the Province of Manitoba, the city of Gimli wanted to put a 5¢ tax on liquor because it wanted to use it for its police force and it passed a resolution. It is still awaiting an order in council by the NDP government of Manitoba to okay it. The fact is that here was a city in Manitoba that actually wanted to get empowered and got nothing from the Government of Manitoba.
My friend across the way should not be under any illusions. This motion has nothing to do with anything that any member of the government has ever said.