Thank you, Mr. Chair.
My first question is for Mr. Beauvais, from the Fédération de la relève agricole du Québec, and it concerns the next generation of farmers in Canada.
You have our utmost admiration. You're facing major challenges in your sector. You currently represent less than 1% of the Canadian population while probably contributing 7% to Canada's GDP. No other sector that employs so few people contributes as much to the Canadian economy as yours does. You can be proud of that, and know that we support you.
It is crucial to expand Bill C‑208 to include the transfer of farms to nieces and nephews.
I, too, am a farmer. I have grandchildren, and I am transferring my farm to my son. It's a sheep farm, like yours. My grandchildren, my daughters' children, also come to the farm, and perhaps one of them will one day want to be part of the family farm. For that reason, the bill must be expanded.
Now I want to talk about patient capital. Currently, patient capital is still held by former owners of farmland when farms are transferred. They have to use interest-free term notes, and it's extremely complicated. Currently, Canadian society does not contribute to patient capital for agriculture. Very few people support it. What's your take on that?
Rather than investing billions of dollars in the industrial sector, Canadian society, through governments, could help increase patient capital to help the next generation of farmers. Would that be possible?