Madam Speaker, it is hard to know where to begin with a resolution that is such intellectual conceit and such nonsense. We try to deal in this place with some scope of reasonableness. It is very difficult when we get a phrasing of a resolution in such an inflammatory fashion and in such a manner that leads to an answer that is ridiculous.
In the fiscal year 2003-04 the federal government raised about $186 billion in revenues. The provinces raised about $170 billion in revenues. That includes the tax points which are roughly in the order of $16 billion. In addition to the tax points, the federal government transferred cash to the provinces of about $37 billion. When we add that to the provincial revenues and subtract it from the federal revenues, the federal government has about $148 billion in revenues and the provincial governments have $207 billion in revenues.
As the House knows, in generations past the governments have run up accumulated deficits until the minister of finance, now the Prime Minister, finally got that under control and actually reduced the debt from a run up of $562 billion down to now $501 billion.
It still leaves us paying 19¢ out of every dollar that the federal government generates toward the debt. That debt servicing cost costs the federal government something in the order of about $35 billion this year. We are down to $148 billion. We then take away the $35 billion to service the debt and the federal government has about $113 billion left over for its other programs.
Included in the other programs are transfers to persons, such as elderly persons and to people who are unemployed, which amounts to another $29 billion. Therefore the federal government's revenues that are available for other programs actually dip below $100 billion.
The provinces have well over $200 billion in revenues available, not only from their own sources where they can tax all of their own sources, but in addition to the transfers from the federal government. Meanwhile, they only pay 10¢ out of every dollar toward their debt of about $281 billion.
If there is in fact a fiscal imbalance, it is exactly the opposite of what the member is speaking about here. I put it to him that all of the debt is with the federal government and all of the revenues are with the provinces.
Will the member at least acknowledge that is in fact the fiscal situation between the federal government and the provincial governments, and that those are accurate numbers?