Good afternoon, Mr. Chair.
Members of the committee, thank you for inviting us to contribute to this process and to look at the financial resources in place to support all Canadians during the COVID-19 pandemic.
I'm the elected reeve of the RCM of Témiscamingue. I represent a 19,000 km2 area with 19 municipalities, a municipal committee and 16,000 residents. There are also four indigenous communities in this area. We have a large number of unorganized areas. The main activities in Témiscamingue involve agriculture, forestry, manufacturing and tourism.
You can see that our area is mainly rural and that its spaces are multi-purpose. As reeve of the RCM, I'm also a member of the board of directors of the Fédération québécoise des municipalités, a voice for the regions in Quebec. We were all surprised by the pandemic. It has shaken and worried us, and it will continue to worry us for a long time. Both the medium-term and long-term effects will have a major impact on activities and on the way society works for a long time.
I want to thank the Canadian government for promptly announcing assistance measures. The government implemented programs and measures very quickly to help people overcome their challenges. On behalf of the residents of Témiscamingue, I want to thank the Government of Canada and all the parties that contributed to this decision. I'll now draw your attention to a few points that I want the government to consider to ensure that its actions achieve the warranted success.
First, the assistance for businesses, as worthwhile as it may be, completely neglects very small businesses. The criteria established for this financial assistance prevent small businesses from accessing it because they don't meet the set thresholds. The businesses are being denied this assistance, which is crucial in rural communities. The businesses are often seasonal, agricultural or tourism businesses. They contribute to the quality of life in communities, villages and municipalities. They also contribute to land use and promote local resources and expertise. We need these businesses to survive the crisis. It would be a real and significant loss if these businesses were to disappear from our regions. We're already losing some businesses and we'll probably lose many more before they can resume operations.
Therefore, would it be possible to think about the set thresholds and about how to help the businesses that don't meet them? These businesses don't fit into the programs. Could they access measures that would qualify them for the valuable assistance put in place?
Furthermore, in recent weeks, we've been living in a world of lockdowns, online purchases and services, telework, telemedicine and distance learning. However, in rural communities, we live far away from services and we need to travel to access them. We don't have access to a quality high-speed Internet network. Our poor-quality network sometimes stops working altogether. We're asking the Canadian government, which has provided major funding to connect rural Canada, to declare high-speed Internet an essential service. Once high-speed Internet is declared an essential service, its rollout will become mandatory and will happen more quickly. In addition, the cost must be comparable for all Canadians.
Lastly, we can't overlook the importance of local media. While Radio-Canada radio has spoken about Témiscamingue only once since the start of the pandemic, our local radio station speaks to the citizens of Témiscamingue every day. Our community television channels broadcast the news and convince people to comply with the measures in place. We need support for our local media.
I'll certainly have other things to say about assistance for municipalities. However, at the very least, these three rules will make it easier for rural areas to get through this difficult situation.
High-speed Internet, support for local media and, most importantly, access to government assistance for very small businesses will make all the difference for rural Canada.
Thank you again for your attention.
I'll stay with you to answer your questions.