Mr. Speaker, I want to inform you that I am sharing my time with the member for Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot—Acton.
I have been listening to my Liberal colleagues respond to our motion since early this morning. I will not repeat what has already been said. We know where that $800 million comes from. All my colleagues made themselves hoarse trying to make the government understand that it gave out rebates for a tax that was not collected. The government turned a deaf ear. I will not repeat what has already been said. I think there is too much repetition.
However, I am struck by something and I must come back to the role of an MP. What is an MP's role? In my opinion, it is to represent the interests of our constituents. I represent the interests of the people of Jonquière and the people of Saguenay—Lac‑Saint‑Jean and the people of Quebec. It is my duty. I cannot understand, then, seeing Quebec MPs rising and speaking against the interests of Quebeckers and acting in a way that deprives the people of Quebec of $800 million. I cannot understand that. I do not know how my Liberal colleagues can do that.
My Liberal colleague pointed out earlier that there are many government members from Quebec who are proud Quebeckers. There is something that sticks out for me. I often get the impression that Quebec members are too closely following the slogan that emerged during the election campaign: “Canada first”. The Conservatives said it. The Liberals also used it during the election campaign. Unfortunately, when a thorny issue arises that affects Quebec, my Liberal colleagues are completely silent. I believe that when they do that, they are not acting like a member of Parliament who represents their constituents, but instead like a lackey, a hack, someone who is subservient and unable to defend the principles that should guide their political action.
We saw this at a defining moment. We saw Quebec members rise up in the 1990s because Quebec had been told no by the federal government, and that created the Bloc Québécois. Once they get tired of being let down by the federal government, perhaps those on the Liberal side and on the Conservative side will rise up. Mysteriously, we saw earlier that even among the Conservatives, there are those trampling a bit on Quebec's autonomy. The requested amendment tabled by the Conservatives basically said that all the Quebec government had to do was to end its carbon exchange and then it could receive a rebate, like the others. This is quite surprising. It is the federal government telling Quebec how to act. It is that tired old idea that Ottawa knows best.
That gets me thinking. Why not unpack the many injustices and inequities the federal government has perpetrated on Quebec? Why not, since that is what happened? The federal government robbed Quebec of $800 million. Let me paint a picture before I get to the inequities. In March, Santé Québec cut $800 million. I bring this up not because I want to get into a debate that belongs in the Quebec National Assembly, but because I want to demonstrate the potential consequences. Consider the Government of Quebec's infrastructure plan for social and community housing from 2024 to 2034. It includes 26 projects worth roughly $928 million. The federal government shortchanged us and, as a result, key services in Quebec, such as social housing and health care, will pay the price.
Let us turn to the federal government's historical injustices and inequities. Without a doubt, one of the most glaring inequities is the fiscal imbalance. My colleagues know how this works. Virtually all public services provided to citizens of Quebec are provided by the Government of Quebec. That includes health care and education. Most services are provided by the Government of Quebec, but the federal government occupies 60% of the tax field. For the federal government, the logic is straightforward: it takes in lots of revenue, but has few expenses. Its fiscal situation is much better than that of the provinces, which means that the federation operates using a transfer system, such as the health transfers we all know and love. While we are at it, we could discuss the Liberals' thinking in 1995 and 1996, around the time of the referendum.
I am talking about Paul Martin and the fiscal imbalance, one of the worst injustices ever seen. Mr. Martin repeatedly cut approximately $2 billion in transfer payments, which completely disrupted Quebec's health care system. We are used to seeing this from the federal government and seeing Quebec's elected officials accept the unacceptable and act like lackeys. That brings me to today. The Quebec government's share of health care funding is about 45% of its budget, which is just crazy.
I want to take a closer look at this. Many analysts were quick to say that the Quebec government's austerity measures were the result of the federal government's total withdrawal from transfer payments. That is what fiscal imbalance does. That is the historical injustice and inequity that is repeating itself. Here is another example today with the controversial $800 million.
There is this injustice of the fiscal imbalance, but there is also a flagrant structural injustice, which we are seeing again today. Two sectors of the Canadian economy are top of mind: the automotive sector and the oil and gas sector. In the past, the federal government has always been there when it came to making meaningful investments to support the automotive and oil and gas sectors.
In the tariff crisis, I see something similar to what happened in 2008, which members probably remember. At the time, the federal government invested $8 billion in the automotive sector to help it get through the crisis. Of the $8 billion that was used to directly support the auto industry, about $1.6 billion went to Quebec. At the same time, in 2008, there was also an unprecedented crisis in Quebec's forestry sector. However, we never saw the federal government pay attention to and help the forestry sector.
In 2025, we are seeing the same pattern. There is a tariff crisis. What did the Liberal government do during the election campaign? It interrupted its campaign. It did so because the crisis affected the auto sector. It quickly wrote cheques totalling $4 billion. It is the same as in 2008. However, what did the federal government do when a 50% tariff was imposed on aluminum? What has the federal government done while the forestry industry has been struggling under tariffs since 2017? Absolutely nothing. It is a double standard.
In the oil and gas sector, it is even more egregious. Between 1970 and 2015, to ensure the oil sands turned a profit, it is believed the federal government invested approximately $70 billion. However, the government made absolutely no meaningful investments over a similar period to support industries in Quebec. Worse still, if we look at the current period, the government purchased a $34‑billion pipeline that Quebeckers will never use. There are tax breaks totalling as much as $82 billion if we use the 2024-35 time frame in the most recent budgets. All of that has gone to support the fat cats in the oil and gas sector, who made record profits of $200 billion in 2022.
When I look at that, I tell myself in all sincerity that it is quite simple: the Liberals and the Conservatives always do the same thing. Before the election campaign, the Conservatives pushed the narrative that the cost of living would go up if we did not axe the carbon tax, and that people would suffer as a result. The Liberals used the tariff crisis to end the carbon tax, saying they had to take action and do something. Only Quebec maintained carbon pricing. Only Quebec will be competitive if Canada wants to trade with Europe, because that will inevitably require putting a price on carbon.
Then, to add insult to injury, Quebeckers were forced to pay $800 million to all Canadians and got nothing for themselves.