Mr. Speaker, we are proud of the most remarkable improvements ever seen in the equalization and territorial formula financing programs.
The Prime Minister and his provincial and territorial counterparts have agreed on a new framework that will increase the budget for assistance to the provinces and territories by $33 billion over 10 years.
This increased funding will help the less prosperous provinces and the three territories to honour the commitments made in the ten-year plan to strengthen health care and to satisfy their other priorities.
For Quebec, it will represent about $477 million more in fiscal year 2004-05. This framework is essential because it will ensure that all Canadians, wherever they live, have access to comparable public services.