Mr. Speaker, I very much enjoyed hearing the minister say that, ultimately, the Liberals had put pressure on the provinces' finances because of the elimination of the deficit and that they were largely responsible for the problems facing the cities today. He forgot to mention that, in the end, the annual deficit was also largely brought on by successive Conservative governments. He forgot to say that, but history always gets forgotten a little.
In terms of agreements, we know that the Federation of Canadian Municipalities asked for $123 billion. From the very first announcements, the minister did not accept that amount of $123 billion. He made a few little comments, which I will not repeat here today. It was nevertheless a very serious study.
Is he aware that, regarding the amount he announced today, that is, the $11.8 billion from the gas tax combined with the $5.8 billion from the GST, if he were to add the building Canada funds and even the $25 million a year for seven years, this would total approximately $28.75 billion over seven years? It is not nearly enough to meet the immediate needs, which require $123 billion. I hope he knows this.
I would like to ask him why the agreement with Quebec still has not been signed? Will he promise to stop asking Quebec for clauses providing, for example, that the Official Languages Act replace the Charter of the French Language, or that the Canadian Environmental Protection Act replace the provincial legislation? He knows very well that we have our own legislation in Quebec. Will he stop attaching such conditions and is this not why he has yet to sign the agreement with Quebec?