Mr. Speaker, I cannot let the words of the hon. member go unanswered. Of course, the hon. member tells us what the Quebec minister said but I can assure him that the minister was there at the table with us. He was there to negotiate. That is what was said, they are prepared to sit down with us to negotiate. At the moment, the final agreement is not signed.
No one on this side has said that Quebec's child care program is not the best in the country. On the contrary, we have said it is the best. I am from Quebec. My riding is in Quebec. I know exactly what services are available.
There are a few problems, however, as far as training is concerned. That is what I hear from people in connection with day care and the situation needs to be remedied. I think that the $5 billion we are prepared to invest and to share with the provinces will enable us to create a program, or continue the one in place, where there is one. The minister has said that thought will be given to this in January when we again sit down with the representatives of the provinces. Mr. Béchard is part of the negotiating group.
That is the difference between the way things were in the days of the Parti Québécois government, and now that there is a Liberal government in Quebec. They are prepared to sit down, to negotiate, to work together.
So I ask again: should we not have a negotiating table, precisely so that we can negotiate in areas where there is shared jurisdiction between the federal and the provincial governments and where we can work together? We are prepared to work together.