Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Joliette.
I intend to raise once again in this House two points that are vital for Quebec—the unilateral amendment of the equalization formula and the Conservative government's intention to proceed with its plan for a national securities commission.
First off, when the budget was tabled, we learned, as did our colleagues in the National Assembly, that the federal government had unilaterally amended the equalization formula to the detriment of Quebec—and unilaterally is what hit hardest, because the federal government was acting on its own after agreement had been reached on an equalization formula. This decision, taken without consultation, will be devastating to Quebec's financial health. Amending the equalization formula will cost Quebec $991 million as of next year.
Next, the budget confirms the federal government's intention to carry out its plan to establish a national securities commission, which had been rejected unanimously by everyone in Quebec involved in politics and the economy. The creation of this commission will threaten the survival of Montreal's trading activities to the benefit of Toronto's.
These measures are not in the interest of Quebec. They mean a loss of revenue for the Government of Quebec and a loss of trading activities in Montreal. All Quebec MPs must lobby to prevent the Conservative government from weakening Quebec yet again.
Unilateral amendment of the equalization formula, apart from intruding on Quebec's jurisdiction, will deprive us Quebeckers of the most vital of services. The cost of health care and education is skyrocketing. A total rewrite of Quebec's budget affects us dramatically. Equalization enables the Government of Quebec to provide a whole range of front-line services, including income security and a number of other social programs.
The fiscal imbalance means that the money is in Ottawa, and the need in Quebec. When finances tighten in Ottawa, Quebec and the provinces feel the effect because the federal government is unilaterally setting the rules for equalization to suit its own interests and not those of Quebec and the provinces.
So, while Ottawa cares for no patients and does not educate Quebeckers, the Government of Quebec has to deal with the spending, which is vital to Quebec and its economy. And so the major changes to equalization will cost Quebec $1 billion as of next year. The amendments contained in the budget implementation bill were decided by the finance minister without warning, consultation or sharing of relevant information with the finance ministers of Quebec and the provinces. The Government of Quebec has made clear its opposition to the proposed changes.
In this regard, I would like to quote Marcelin Joanis, a professor at the University of Sherbrooke's department of economics. He wrote the following in this month's edition of the Options politiques journal:
In a federation like Canada, where the provinces have exclusive constitutional responsibility over such strategic economic levers as health and education, it is no longer acceptable to have the provinces' financial situation at the mercy of the federal government's whims whenever a crisis surfaces.
In the current economic context, the last thing Quebec needs is a federal government that wants to once again offload its problems onto the provinces. The fact that the federal government can decide to amend the equalization formula without consulting the provinces is evidence that the real issue, namely the fiscal imbalance, is not settled. We must really talk about income stability. One wonders how the Quebec government can have budgets that make sense when—after negotiations had taken place to determine the equalization formula—it is faced with a situation that has changed so much that it can no longer fulfill its responsibilities.
Let us not forget that equalization payments are not a gift. It is a process which, to some degree, corrects a reality, namely that Ottawa collects way too much taxes for the services provided, while Quebec does not have the financial leeway of a sovereign state but must still provide essential services such as health and education.
Until Quebec becomes a sovereign state and is the only one collecting taxes on its territory, the Bloc Québécois proposes that transfers to the provinces be replaced by the equivalent tax room. That is the only way to protect Quebeckers from the whims of Ottawa.
As regards the establishment of a national securities commission, that idea was unanimously rejected in Quebec. The federal government is once again showing its urge to interfere in a Quebec jurisdiction, namely securities regulation. As with equalization, Ottawa is using the economic crisis to justify these unilateral decisions that go against the best interests of Quebec. As was the case with amending the equalization formula, the Quebec National Assembly was unanimously opposed to the establishment of a national securities commission based in Toronto. To centralize in Toronto all financial activities taking place in Canada is unacceptable to Bloc Québécois members.
It is unacceptable that a formula which works very well according to the International Monetary Fund should be modified. Our passport system is effective and efficient. It allows us to benefit from regulatory competition. Why change something that is working so well?
This House recognized the Quebec nation. It is incoherent for the federal government to recognize on one hand that Quebecers form a nation and, one the other hand, to take away from Montreal, their economic and financial capital, and to weaken it for the benefit of Toronto. Any self-respecting nation would vigorously defend its financial and political capitals. This double talk from the Conservative government is absurd: we recognize you as a nation, but we will take away one by one your powers and you economic development levers.
In conclusion, this opposition day is obviously one of the very few opportunities we have to express the unanimous position of the National Assembly of Quebec, as well as Quebecers it represents, on equalization and on the creation of a national securities commission. The Conservative members of Parliament from Quebec follow blindly the position established by their party, even if it goes against the best interests of Quebec, as is the case with equalization and with the creation of a national securities commission. At the same time, the Liberal members of Parliament remain seated and accept the government position, except of course the ones who are lucky enough to be members from Newfoundland and Labrador.
The Bloc Québécois members are the only ones who dare speak up for Quebec in this House. To unilaterally amend the equalization formula and to create a single securities commission goes against the interests of Quebec as a nation. This is the reason why we strongly oppose these two measures. I urge all members of this House to vote in favour of this motion from the Bloc Québécois.