Madam Speaker, I congratulate you on becoming Assistant Deputy Speaker.
I want to take this opportunity to thank the people of Halifax West for returning me to the House of Commons along with so many colleagues.
I would like to welcome my good friend, the new member for West Nova. He is not new to politics, but he is new to Ottawa. About 15 years ago, we were both ministers, one in the federal government and the other in the provincial government. We often worked together and we got along most of the time.
My colleague has considerable provincial experience and is very familiar with the needs of the provincial governments and the challenges they face. We have recently been hearing some comments about the equalization program and that some premiers would like to change it. What are his views on that?