Mr. Speaker, when I was on the finance committee I remember working on the whole question of equalization. The member will know that this is not arbitrary on behalf of the Government of Canada. The equalization formula is based on agreements among all the provinces. They know exactly what is happening.
That is not to say that there are not pressure points within different provinces. As the member knows, for instance, Newfoundland does not want its equalization to be reduced by the oil and gas revenues that it is getting from offshore. It wants an exclusion for that. I am sure there are lots of ways in which provinces have argued their case, but I assure the member that equalization is not just a federal decision as to who gets what. It is pursuant to established formulas and agreements among the provinces, their declarations and their economic activity.
I would also point out to the member that the $7 billion of additional funds out of the GST going to our communities will help alleviate the pressure on some of the areas that the member talked about. It will put the decision making as to how that is spent into the hands of municipalities. I think that is really important.
I am also very pleased that money is going, effectively, to all communities, not just to the have communities, the larger ones that can maybe make the big splashy cases. I think it is important that all cities will benefit.
I understand the member's concerns but I would like to see more information about how this problem or how this inequity arose and what options or what mechanisms are available to address it.