Finance committee  The government was clear--I don't have the page number here--

Finance committee  Let me answer the second question first. As Mr. Lapointe pointed out, some of the $7 billion reduction did include those things you have just mentioned. The child care money for 2006-07 will flow to the provinces and then those agreements will be replaced.

Finance committee  No, because this year the child care transfer, which is not included in our definition of the statutory programs run by the Department of Finance, was a separate contribution agreement provided through Social Development Canada, which is now HRSD. So the transfers have increased substantially from one year to the next.

Finance committee  In 2006-07 they will receive substantially more through the equalization program. If you look here, the numbers have been updated. There's the 3.5% escalator on that program, so the provinces will receive more. In addition, there's a 6% escalator on health transfers, and they will receive that.

Finance committee  --on page 159 that the Ontario agreement will be honoured.

Finance committee  It's hard for me to speak to other people's concerns. The government has been very clear that it will honour the agreement. There is perhaps a difference of opinion on the part of the Minister of Finance from Ontario as to how that will be done, but there is no difference of opinion on whether it will be honoured.

Finance committee  That is difficult for me to say. The Ontario minister has raised the issue of the climate change fund. You see in the budget that there is money applied against that commitment for these two years. Far be it from me to say that I do not altogether understand their concern, but their concern has been raised.

Finance committee  The government, I think, has been very clear that they will respect those accords.

Finance committee  I'm a bureaucrat. That is....

Finance committee  I think there have been a great many concerns raised about the Atlantic accords.

Finance committee  No, by other provinces and through the media.

Finance committee  The latest that we hear from the expert panel is that they anticipate having their report completed by the end of the month.

Finance committee  There is not an announced date as yet, but we are anticipating it.

Finance committee  With respect to the payments to the territorial government, we used to pay that through vote 5, and in 2005-06 we moved it into a legislative statutory program. So this is just a negative replacing the positive on the previous page. Similarly, for the second one, the health reform transfer, when the Canada health transfer was created, this health reform transfer was rolled into it.

Finance committee  For the youth allowance, the variance there is a change in one year to the next. The transfers to territorial governments are now found on 9.2, under the Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act, and the health reform transfer, as I said, that $3.5 billion, was rolled into the Canada health transfer.