Mr. Speaker, I must first emphasize that the Bloc Québécois notes the government's firm commitment to resolving the issue of the fiscal imbalance by February 2007. However, given that we are starting the debate, I would like to ask the minister why this budget does not include measures to help the manufacturing sector. This sector is currently at risk due to competition from emerging economies such as China and India. The speech mentions this competition, but nothing concrete is proposed to help the clothing, textile, shoe and furniture industries. This is my first question.
I have another question. Given that the government promised to respect Quebec's jurisdictions, I do not understand how it can propose a Canadian securities commission. This was rejected by the Liberal government in the past. It would seem that this contradicts what the Prime Minister is saying and this could be a potential source of bickering between Quebec and the federal government.