Mr. Speaker, I must comment. During the election campaign, I remember some of the Liberal advertising hammering away at certain individuals.
Then I read an article by an economist from McGill University. He had the data to show that eight provinces in this country in the 1990s were basically have not provinces. There was a net inflow of money to help support those provinces during the period of 1993 to 2001. Most of them had provincial Liberal governments or NDP governments and there was a separatist government in Quebec.
The economist had the data for the province of Alberta from 1993 to 2001. The increase of revenues to this town of Ottawa was gigantic during that period of time. There was a huge influx of revenue. Then, mysteriously, from 1995 to 2001, there was a great big jackpot that came from Ontario. Every year Ottawa got more and more, which helped to fund this town. He said that without Alberta's and Ontario's contributions during this period of time this government and this town would have been an absolute fiscal basket case.
He said that the former finance minister, the Prime Minister, should have two great big pictures on the wall in his office, one of Ralph Klein and one of Mike Harris, and he should get down on his hands and knees every day and give thanks for what these two premiers did for the fiscal situation in this country.
It is a disgrace. You people have done nothing to sort out the fiscal house in here. You have wasted and squandered--