Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak in this debate on Bill C-18 and the side issues. It is an act respecting equalization and authorizing the Minister of Finance to make certain payments related to health.
My good friend opposite was letting off steam and having fun. However, I think the true hypocrisy is on that side of the House across from us. A bill like this one smells of an election. Every time an election is on the horizon, the government always manages to put forward a bill that opposition parties are often forced to vote against. There is always something in the bill that does not make sense.
This time, the government could very well have paid out the $2 billion for health. If a bill were needed for that, to say that this sum should be put into a trust, as clause 6 suggests, a simple bill with very little in it would have sufficed for paying out the $2 billion.
The Liberals will be able to travel across the country, and particularly in Quebec, during the election campaign and say, “The Bloc Quebecois voted against the bill that provided $2 billion for health”. Nonsense. We are opposed to the fact that, over a period of five years, this government did not manage to negotiate equalization.
Earlier, the government chief whip and deputy House leader told us that the Minister of Finance had made a promise. When we see that ministers opposite have no memory, we cannot really trust their promises.
When we see in the bill, under clause 3, that payments are extended to March 31, 2005, without any mention of this retroactivity to April 1, 2004, we do not believe the Minister of Finance; we no longer believe this government. It has fooled us too often in recent days. We can no longer trust it.
So, a proper amendment must be included in a clause to point out that the new equalization formula will be retroactive to April 1, 2004. We cannot take any risk. If there is no retroactivity, Quebec, among others, will lose $1.5 billion. We cannot run that risk. If this formula is going to be retroactive, then let us put it in writing in the legislation. It does not cost much to include these things. Why not do it? We cannot put our trust in a promise.
What is important, as the hon. member for Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup—Témiscouata—Les Basques pointed out, is to split the bill in two. Let us vote on the amount of $2 billion. Everyone here agrees with it. Then, the government should propose the equalization formula with an important amendment, namely the guarantee that the formula will be retroactive to April 1, 2004. If we do not have that guarantee, logic tells us to vote against this legislation. It is simple. The Liberals think they are doing fine with their majority, but they only have the support of 38% of the voters. Incidentally, I am curious to see the next poll.
I am not sure that many Canadians are proud to be Liberals today. I am not sure at all. They will have trouble finding candidates to run against us in Quebec. More and more people are hiding the fact that they are Liberals. It is a shame to have a government that would not stand for taxpayers, but would rather look out for itself, its own party, its friends and its growing bank accounts.
Again, this bill is only a parody of democracy that would have us believe that the government is generous. However, in the last five years, the former finance minister who is now Prime Minister could not reach an agreement with his provincial counterparts about an equalization program criticized by all of the provinces.
It is not only Quebec but all of the provinces that are criticizing the equalization program.
The chief whip told us that we would come to an agreement before March 31, 2004. Who does he think we are? Take a good look at me, I am no dummy. What they are doing does not make any sense. They could not come to an agreement in the last five years, but they are now sure they can make a deal within a month. It does not make any sense.
I urge the government to seriously reconsider the issue. And if the Prime Minister is really serious about a new approach to governance, a new way of doing things, he should stop acting like the previous government did and he should be more transparent and tell us exactly how things stand.