Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Smee, I really appreciate the discussion and your remarks about food hubs.
My region, Abitibi‑Témiscamingue, is a six‑hour drive north up the Ottawa River. In some ways, it's the Newfoundland and Labrador of Quebec, if you will. It's a mining and forestry region as well.
The study that I carried out showed me that deficiencies are found everywhere. It's almost impossible to make just one stage of the food chain profitable. You spoke about the will of producers. They're there as well.
What pitfalls do you come up against?
Given the current context—where federal government officials are gathered and where the minister may be tuning in—I'm most interested in how we can use public resources to create community infrastructure that will make a difference in farm profitability. Otherwise, it wouldn't be profitable in regions where settling the land and towns is also becoming profitable for communities that want to live on their land.
What are your thoughts on this?