Madam Speaker, the truth is of course that all of these matters are currently being negotiated. Let us take a look at infrastructure in particular. We have dedicated 5¢ a litre of existing gas tax revenues toward municipalities. We have been working very hard with all of the municipal associations. In fact, in Ontario we now have an agreement with AMO in terms of how the money will be split up.
Obviously one of the questions was about where we have upper and lower tier municipalities and how we divide this. For example, in Ajax--Pickering, we have the town of Ajax and the city of Pickering, but we also have the region of Durham. Both of them provide important services. There are important questions about how we divide it up, but the reality is that we are extremely close. In fact, next week, I understand, there is going to be a deal struck so that we can see exactly how those dollars can flow.
Therefore, we know in rough terms what those funds are going to mean for each municipality. As I said, as a member of Parliament I can already sit down with those councils and talk in a very real and meaningful way about the types of things that will happen specifically for our community.
I referenced one of those projects, an important pedestrian link that is going to connect our GO transit system with Pickering's downtown. That is a huge project and it is one that people in the western end of Durham are very excited about. There similar projects in Ajax that we are in discussions about.
In terms of a national child care strategy, it is much the same answer. We know what the objective is. The money has been very clearly set out. We are currently in closing negotiations with the province of Ontario. When those negotiations are concluded, we will be able to give firm numbers in terms of exactly how many spots we are going to be able to open.
What we do know is that the moneys we have set aside and the willingness of the provinces, as we have discussed, is going to lead to great improvements in early learning. For families with young children it will mean a great opportunity and the assurance that their children will go into an environment where they are nurtured and enriched and where they are prepared for the rest of their lives.
I would urge the hon. member to support this budget so these important measures can move forward.