Agriculture Committee on June 5th, 2020

[The Clerk]

We are looking into it as we speak.

[The Chair, Liberal, Pat Finnigan]

We stopped the clock, Mr. Lehoux.

[Richard Lehoux, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Hello, Mr. Ellis, can you hear me well now?

[Neil Ellis, Liberal, Bay of Quinte, ON]

Yes.

[The Chair, Liberal, Pat Finnigan]

We're listening, Mr. Lehoux.

[Richard Lehoux, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

My question is for Ms. St-George and Ms. Lefebvre.

Earlier we talked about the importance of the Internet in rural areas. I understood, following a comment made by my colleague Mr. Blois, that this seemed to be a special situation, but we have just realized that there are places in Quebec and Canada—throughout the country, in fact—where there are problems with Internet access.

Ms. St-Georges, I'd like your comments on e-commerce, given the difficulties we're seeing across Canada.

[Catherine St-Georges]

We were told that high-speed Internet is not accessible in all regions of Quebec. In fact, when we hold meetings with federation members, some producers cannot use their cameras on the Zoom platform because they do not have enough bandwidth. So we can imagine that this can be a problem on a transactional site where we have to coordinate all orders and deliveries.

[Richard Lehoux, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Thank you, Ms. St-Georges.

Ms. Lefebvre, on your side, is the Internet readily accessible in Montérégie?

[Catherine Lefebvre]

Everything is fine for me because I'm close to my village, but for many other businesses, the further away from the centre of Montreal, for example, the more problems.

[Richard Lehoux, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

So we could do even better, couldn't we?

[Catherine Lefebvre]

Yes, we could do better.

[Richard Lehoux, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

I would now like to talk about the difficulties in recruiting immigrant labour. In your last comments on the famous $1,500 payment, you said that many restrictions were introduced after the announcement and that they will result in additional costs for you. Did I understand correctly?

[Catherine Lefebvre]

That's right. None of the quarantine-related costs are included in the $1,500, nor is anything having to do with labour without a tangible invoice. We need proof in order to claim the $1500. That's really the problem.

[Richard Lehoux, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

So an adjustment would have to be made so that you could meet your needs. Is that correct?

[Catherine Lefebvre]

Yes.

[Richard Lehoux, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

By the way, I liked your comment on AgriInvest and I think it was really relevant. You're in the fields right now, and when you're asked to empty your coffers to access the program, you find that the current formula may not be adequate.

[Catherine Lefebvre]

We need to keep AgriInvest to invest in our farms. I think the name AgriInvest is a good one. However, we cannot use this program in an exceptional year like this, where we have extra expenses and less income.

[Richard Lehoux, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

There really should be a tailored program that could be accessed in special circumstances, like this year's. Is that correct?

[Catherine Lefebvre]

Yes, exactly. Otherwise, our farms are going to go downhill because we will not be able to keep them competitive at a global level.

[Richard Lehoux, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Thank you, Ms. Lefebvre.

Ms. St-George, can you tell us more about the support programs for local markets?

[Catherine St-Georges]

I've given you some examples of their usefulness. At the provincial level, there is a program aimed at community-based marketing. In response to COVID-19, it funded a project that enabled the Association des marchés publics du Québec to launch a virtual platform for farmers' markets. At the time it was launched, it was not known whether the markets would reopen or not. It is a kind of car service where people order and then go to the public market. They can still complete their purchases there. It is the kind of program that can be put in place easily, quickly and can be used to help businesses in a crisis like this. These are the types of initiatives that could be funded by a program.

[Richard Lehoux, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

It could also come from the federal government. I understand that the provincial government can help in part, but the federal government could also play a role, could it not?

[Catherine St-Georges]

Yes, it could.

[Richard Lehoux, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

We want to develop local markets because this type of assistance could benefit the entire Canadian agricultural community, especially small businesses. Is that right?

[Catherine St-Georges]

That's right.

These companies cannot always achieve economies of scale and do not have the necessary infrastructure. They have to be able to change their way of doing things to be able to supply new markets, to deliver the goods to them. They could benefit from such a program.