Mr. Speaker, there was a disaster in the Saguenay region and another one in Manitoba, and the rules were applied to the satisfaction of both provincial governments at the time.
Companies like Hydro-Quebec do not qualify. Government assistance is targeted to small and medium size businesses and to farmers. In the case of the Saguenay region, for example, no money was given to Alcan or to the paper mills that sustained damages, because government assistance is not for them.
The eligibility rules are very clear. They were established in 1988 when Lucien Bouchard was a minister in the Conservative government.