Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his question. This all goes back to the fiscal imbalance. If you have read the same reports I have, you will have seen that the provinces whose wait times have increased are the ones experiencing the greatest financial difficulty. Alberta and Ontario are doing relatively well. Quebec and the maritime provinces are having more difficulty.
The answer to his question is putting the necessary cash into correcting the fiscal imbalance. This would enable Quebec and the Atlantic provinces to fix their problem areas. When we do not have any money, we cannot just print it, as Réal Caouette and the Social Credit Party suggested years ago. This problem is very real.
The federal government must correct the fiscal imbalance in its next budget to the tune of the figures I have already mentioned: $3.9 billion for Quebec, a large part of which would go to health care, as well as to post-secondary education, fighting poverty, and the Government of Quebec's other responsibilities, such as infrastructure and culture.
To correct this problem, we do not want the federal government to interfere in provincial areas of jurisdiction and in Quebec's affairs. We want it to acknowledge its financial responsibility by transferring the money and correcting the fiscal imbalance. Then we will see whether the provinces can meet the needs of their people. They will always be accountable to their people, not to the federal government.