Madam Speaker, those responsible for passing judgment on the Bloc Québécois are the people that party represents, meaning Quebeckers. I respect that. They are the ones who will decide.
What I said was that, instead of joining the Conservatives, the Bloc Québécois could have joined us and done more. That is what I said and I maintain this. I am convinced that, had we worked together, our combined forces would have succeeded in resolving a large part of the problem with employment insurance. We cannot just turn around and forget the past. Together, we have accomplished a great deal with regard to employment insurance.
The Bloc Québécois says that health is a provincial responsibility. This is true. However, if we work together to obtain funding, as my colleague said earlier, perhaps the people of Quebec will not wind up in hospital corridors, as they do now. I have said it over and over: go to a vet and there are no dogs or cats waiting in the halls, but hospital patients do. This is happening in New Brunswick. I am not afraid of saying bad things about New Brunswick or saying today that the province's Conservative government closed the hospitals in Caraquet and Dalhousie and that it tried to close the ones in Saint Quentin and Saint Leonard.
What I am asking the federal government to do is to give money to our provinces so they can provide health care to seniors and children who are hospitalized. This is what our country should be about. It is not my fault if someone does not want to live in this country. I am not ashamed of my country. I am not ashamed of coming from New Brunswick or of being an Acadian. If the federal government has billions of dollars, I am not ashamed to ask it for money to put in our regions in order to help the people at home, particularly the unemployed who cannot even qualify for employment insurance benefits and who are now contemplating suicide. I am not ashamed to tell the government that we have taken our responsibilities by getting money for people who live on the streets.
The answer to the question of my colleague from Yukon is simple. The Quebec people will judge whether the Bloc has done a good job and whether they will support it. I am willing to live with this. However, that will not change the fact that the member for Acadie—Bathurst will support the approach, within a minority government, to get the maximum amount of money to give to the citizens, to the poorest, to the people in the streets, instead of giving it to big corporations.
The Conservatives want to give that money to large corporations. They want to privatize health care and they want to do away with ACOA, which helps small and medium size businesses. I am proud that these businesses will still get a tax cut. The suggestion not to take it away from them came from the NDP. The Prime Minister of Canada was saying that small and medium size businesses were just like large corporations. The leader of the NDP said no; he wanted to help small and medium size businesses because they are the engine of today's economy. Indeed, 74% of jobs in Canada are provided by small and medium size businesses, even though they do not get any support. They pay their taxes, unlike some people in Canada, including the current Prime Minister.
I think an examination of conscience is required. If we want to solve the problem we have in Parliament and in our country and if we want Quebec to remain within Canada, we must start by respecting Quebeckers and respecting each other. We must be able to reach agreements. Quebec must feel as comfortable with us as does New Brunswick. I want to be respected in the same way.
I would like to see changes to employment insurance in this budget. We need them. The problem must not be solved only in the riding of Beauséjour—Petitcodiac or in the riding of Madawaska—Restigouche, which are represented by Liberal members. The problem must be solved for all seasonal workers. That is what the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development said. She said that she was aware of the problem with seasonal workers and that she would solve it, which she has not done even though this is something we need.