Mr. Speaker, first of all, the money that is transferred through the equalization program comes from all the taxpayers in Canada. It is not money that comes specifically from Alberta.
It is clear that, because of the way the program is designed, Alberta does not receive any money. We know that it is a province in a very special situation. Still, British Columbia, which previously did not receive anything, now gets some.
I am not happy to be receiving equalization payments. I think that if Quebec had been a sovereign country for some decades, we would have had the means, with our own taxes, to manage our own affairs and be a more prosperous society than we are today.
Still, the hon. member is correct. Quebec has caught up in an extraordinary way. Consequently, in a few years we will no longer need this equalization because we will be a sovereign state.