Mr. Speaker, by capping equalization, the Prime Minister is taking over $1 billion away from Quebec, depriving it of a means of combatting the economic crisis. The Prime Minister prefers to help Ontario and the west, which benefit from the new equalization formula, at Quebec's expense.
How can we have confidence in this Prime Minister, who is going back on his March 19, 2007 commitment to the Premier of Quebec to make, and I quote, “a fundamental return to fiscal balance in Canada”?