Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister, for being here. It's great to see you in the room.
I want to start with the advance payments program. Just to give you some context, Minister, we've had the conversation. Of course, this is something that has just been debated and discussed in the House. Back on February 27, we had the chance to learn more about the advance payments program. Essentially, they are loans to provide cash flow for farmers who are facing difficult times. We know that 2018 and 2019 have been challenging years.
What we learned, Minister, at the last meeting on February 27 was that our government had increased the limit for all farmers up to $1 million. I believe you might have referenced that in your speech. We had raised the interest-free portion on the loan from $100,000 to $500,000. We actually provided a stay of default, which allows farmers more time to pay back these loans that have been provided. This is certainly important, particularly in western Canada where we've seen a lot of moisture and challenging times with regard to grain drying. Then we also provided an additional two months for farmers to file their applications.
I just want to make sure that this is correct. Is that what has been done, certainly in 2018?