Madam Chair, I would be interested in hearing the specifics, since technically, the government is not allowed to take money from one budget and use it for another purpose without going through the House. I would like to know what mechanism the Liberals are using to compensate our farmers. I do not understand what the government is doing.
I have another question. This one is about health transfers. We want to see new money. The budget includes about $100 million in additional funding for Health Canada. That extra money could go to the provinces. We actually need billions, but that would be a start.
This government is always trying to come up with new federal programs. Today, it is health care, but we could be talking about any other federal program or initiative. These initiatives always sound great, but the problem is that they do not mesh well with the programs we have in Quebec. Quebec has exclusive jurisdiction over health.
The problem is that federal transfers do not keep up with inflation. The Government of Quebec's costs go up by 5% or 6% every year, but the federal government refuses to boost transfers by more than 1% or 2% per year. Sometimes it goes as high as 3%, but there is always a deficit. The upshot is that we are losing money. Health care is costing us more each year because the federal government is not paying its share.
Why not transfer more money to the provinces?