Mr. Speaker, absolutely. This is part of the Constitution. As the member knows, we have absolute respect for the Constitution. The Conservative Party has always viewed and will continue to view equalization as an essential component of Canada's nation-building efforts. We will continue to honour equalization.
However, as the hon. member knows, we have felt for some time, as have Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Saskatchewan and other provinces, that the current formula has some problems and needs to be revisited. That is why we have also supported the idea of striking a panel and revisiting the formula. We support the government's efforts to do that.
Having said that, I will say that we have also said for a number of years--and it was one of our leaders' promises during the election as well, long before the Liberals were talking about it--that we should be excluding natural resources from the equalization formula so that provinces like Newfoundland and Nova Scotia can enjoy 100% of their oil revenues.