Recently, my colleague from Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques introduced a very important private member's bill intended to facilitate the transfer of family farms. There is currently an injustice, in the sense that it is sometimes more profitable for farmers to sell the farm to a stranger than to one of their children, even if the child wants to buy it to keep it in the family. Unfortunately, the bill was defeated. However, it had aroused significant interest and support across Canada. The bill was defeated by only 12 votes. We would have liked to have at least referred it to committee. In fact, we think this measure could have facilitated the transfer of farms in order to keep these businesses in our regions.
Moreover, the parliamentary budget officer tabled a fairly worrisome report. We are talking about some misinformation from the Department of Finance. It was anticipated that this bill would cost between $126 million and $249 million. The government argued that this bill would cost $1.2 billion.
A bill like this could have facilitated the transfer of family farms.
Could you comment on the importance of correcting this injustice?