Mr. Chair, it has not worked that way. The dollars were earmarked. They were specifically set aside for this purpose and they were redirected to other purposes. Those moneys have been stolen.
Let us not mince words. The moneys were specifically meant to compensate for the medical costs associated with this tragedy. It was not just an extra $130 million that the McGuinty regime could spend however it wished. It was $130 million to the province of Ontario to compensate for the medical costs associated with this tragedy.
It is interesting that the Liberal Party, which appropriates itself the moral authority to call itself the protector of Canadian compassion, has done nothing to ensure that those dollars arrived for those who were most in need. It is also interesting that their arch enemy, Mike Harris, was the one as premier who gave $25,000 per victim in compensation to those who suffered from this tragedy outside of the years 1986 to 1990.
The member knows that this has nothing to do with cooperative federalism. It is not cooperation when one level of government intentionally misdirects dollars from another level of government. That is theft. It is not only theft from the federal government, it is theft from the victims of this tragedy. If he and his party truly had the compassion that they so often brag about, then he would stand in the House of Commons right now and condemn the McGuinty government for failing to send those dollars to the victims. Will he?