Mr. Speaker, I was part of a government, in fact part of a cabinet, that made the decision to negotiate and implement the Atlantic accord with the provinces of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia.
It was difficult because in fact the principle of the Atlantic accord was that Nova Scotia and Newfoundland would receive 100% of the benefits of their natural resource wealth above and beyond equalization. Yes, it was a difficult agreement; yes, it was difficult to attain; and yes, there was push-back in fact from the Department of Finance.
The principle of it was based on the equalization system continuing and this accord acting in addition to the equalization system. That was the principle of it. That is why it was difficult to effect that change.
However, the party that actually put it on the table in the first place, that demanded that there be no caps, was the Conservative Party. It was the one that demanded that our government take action on that file. In fact, we worked with provincial Progressive Conservative governments to do exactly that.
The member is saying that it is somehow a happy choice for provincial governments now to make. It is not a happy choice to have to trade off future prosperity, which is found in a solemn commitment and accord with the federal government, against getting more revenue now. That is not a happy choice.
In fact, the member said that our arguments were dishonest. Is she calling Premier Rodney MacDonald, a Progressive Conservative premier, dishonest? He said:
It's almost as if they want to continue giving handouts to Nova Scotians rather than us keeping our offshore accord, and that to me is fundamentally unfair.
Premier Rodney MacDonald said that he was blindsided by the federal budget's attack on the accord.
Is the member referring to Premier Danny Williams, a Progressive Conservative premier, as being dishonest when she said that he was arguing against her government's decision to axe the accord?
Furthermore, the potential federal Conservative candidate for Halifax, Jayne Purves, who was in fact the chief of staff to Premier Hamm during these negotiations had this to say:
I think it puts the province in a really difficult position...It puts them in an almost impossible position...I was part of that team--
She talked about the negotiating team:
--and that's what makes it difficult. I didn't do it, but I was part of it. It was Dr. Hamm that did it. I'm not in support of this particular aspect of the budget--
That is the potential federal Progressive Conservative candidate in Halifax who was part of the negotiating team for that accord. Is she being dishonest?