I do want to say, as I pointed out in my presentation, that advance payments programs were implemented last year, which greatly assisted Quebec producers. About 700 producers benefited from a total of $125 million in loans. We also asked for a reprieve on payments due this spring—in April, to be precise. We were given one, and we are asking for another one, because the current problems are serious.
With respect to young farmers, one of my sons, who is 33 years old, works on the farm with me. He, too, is wondering whether there is any future in this industry. That is primarily a concern in the hog industry right now. Our young people have to be able to rely on programs that will able them to remain in agriculture. For that reason, we are in the process of developing a dialogue between the Fédération des producteurs de porcs and the government, as well as with all the members of Parliament we have been working with, with a view to improving the situation of Quebec producers. Some programs have been identified. For example, we would like to have a look at the caps currently set for the Agri-Stability and Agri-Investment programs. The fact is that we can no longer use a model based on the farms of the past. Those caps have to be reviewed and adapted to the current realities facing farm businesses nowadays.
We were talking about slaughtering earlier. That is important in the beef industry, but it is just as important in the hog industry. Given the current economic crisis, why not innovate by offering producers or even workers an opportunity to invest in slaughtering and processing plants? That avenue has never been seriously examined, even though there has been a lot of discussion of it. Why not have government funding go through the producers and the employees? That is being done in Red Deer, Alberta, and elsewhere. Based on a plan, producers and slaughtering plant staff work together. In Quebec, all these things are on the table. These producers can invest. These kinds of initiatives are underway. The hog industry should also have access to government assistance for slaughtering that would go through the producers and workers, and thereby maintain jobs.