Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier in response to another question, there are differing views in Canada, certainly some strongly held, with respect to equalization issues. At the end of the day, equalization is a federal program paid for by the resources that flow to the Government of Canada from taxpayers in Canada paying Canadian taxes. At the end of the day, the decision has to rest with the Government of Canada in terms of the administration of a federal program.
That said, it is very important that we engage in these constructive discussions this year because at the end of the day we are all Canadians.