Madam Speaker, clearly the Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador provided this technical detail in his discussions with the Prime Minister. Those discussions took place at that high level four months ago. The problem now is that the Prime Minister is backing away from that commitment.
This debate is not about providing further clarity. This is about shedding light on what the Prime Minister has already committed to. This is about ensuring that the Prime Minister keeps that commitment.
We, very clearly, in our words and actions, support the region and the premiers who are simply looking for the Prime Minister to now deliver on that commitment. This would allow us to get away from scenarios that we see in a province such as Nova Scotia where 43% of the revenues generated in that province go to a single issue, health care.
How are we supposed to deal with infrastructure, education and other important matters if we cannot generate some revenue independent of this sad scenario where we find ourselves now able to generate revenue but have 81¢ on every dollar generated in that province clawed back by the federal government?
It is a clear issue. The technical detail exists. The Prime Minister promised that 100% of those royalties would go to the province of Nova Scotia and to the province Newfoundland and Labrador. The simple solution is for the Prime Minister to keep his word.