Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, I would first like to say how proud I am to be the member of Parliament for the 9 Wing Gander in Newfoundland and Labrador. At this point I would like to send a big congratulations and a bon voyage to our outgoing base commander, Lieutenant-Colonel James MacAleese. I am proud to say that our next base commander will be Lieutenant-Colonel Tammy Harris who is the first female base commander in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Fisheries and Oceans  Mr. Speaker, the northeast coast of Newfoundland and Labrador is now experiencing the worst ice conditions in decades. Unable to get their fishing gear in the water, hundreds of families have been without any income for about a month and, as a result, many are unable to provide for their families.

Prime Minister's Horoscope  Mr. Speaker, I rise to offer advice to the minority Conservative government. We can do that by checking the Prime Minister's horoscope. Today is the Prime Minister's birthday and caféastrology.com tells us, “restlessness, rebellion, and impatience figure prominently”. It is a clear reference to the Conservative Atlantic caucus.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, the most controlling Prime Minister in the history of Canada seems to be losing his grip on the Afghanistan mission and now the same is happening in his own caucus. Here is the latest. A report last night from Radio-Canada says that his Atlantic colleagues are seeing the light, or perhaps feeling the heat.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, the last thing the Conservatives did was break their promise. That is what the government prides itself on doing. Recently, even the great Progressive Conservative, John Crosbie, says that he supports Premier Williams and admits that a promise was indeed broken.

Equalization  Mr. Speaker, on April 4 Wade Locke, an economist with Memorial University, did a study which showed that Newfoundland and Labrador would gain over $5 billion in the new budget. However, a week later through an exchange of e-mails Mr. Locke discovered he was given wrong information by the finance minister's office.

Equalization  Mr. Speaker, perhaps the minister should relax while I explain to him an e-mail exchange from his office. It said, and this was in the St. John's Telegram: I have apologized to Wade that a previous e-mail from one of our staff may have misled him. That was from his office. The minister is responsible for a great deal of misinformation.

Budget Implementation Act, 2007  Mr. Speaker, I thank you for reminding me of the rules. I would like to extend my apologies to all members in this House. In response to my hon. colleague's question, indeed it has been a tumultuous event over the last three years to say the least. When the whole idea of being principal beneficiaries started, we talked about the fact that under the Atlantic accords we would be able to prosper much like Alberta did back in the 1950s and the 1960s and become an economic powerhouse.

Budget Implementation Act, 2007  It is a lot of money, Mr. Speaker. Nobody on that side would agree. We have to sell what we put out there, which is perhaps the politics of deception at its best.

Budget Implementation Act, 2007  Mr. Speaker, therein lies the crux of one of the problems, equalization and the fair principle of it. The Constitution talks about equal services provided across the country based on a needs basis. Certainly the measures taken in 1977 with tax points, or as those members called it, back door equalization, was not back door for us.

Budget Implementation Act, 2007  Through you, Mr. Speaker, I would like to address this to two members in the House, to the member of Parliament for South Shore—St. Margaret's and to the member of Parliament for Avalon who are present here. Did they hear what was just said? How dare we actually go beyond the level of prosperity of Ontario.

Budget Implementation Act, 2007  Do not say no. The member for Peterborough would like to say no but he does not understand it. I would suggest that the member go to downtown Peterborough, talk to the people at Haaseltons Coffee & Sweets and find out just how the budget is not selling to the people of southern Ontario as well as Newfoundland and Labrador.

Budget Implementation Act, 2007  Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the fact that I can voice my opinion on some very important issues. One is in particular to me and to my home province of Newfoundland and Labrador and it concerns the recent debacle about equalization. I will quote the Minister of Finance who said in his speech on the budget, “We are keeping our commitments on equalization”.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Finance. He stated in the budget that he would put an end to federal and provincial squabbling but not so. Will he write Rodney MacDonald, Lorne Calvert and Danny Williams and apologize for breaking his promise to be principal beneficiaries of their resources?

The Budget  It is not my fault, Mr. Speaker, seriously.