Good morning.
My name is Christian Hébert, and I am the president of the Union des producteurs agricoles de Portneuf.
I want to tell you that climate change is making our lives harder. This summer, we saw very high precipitation levels in the Portneuf region and elsewhere in Quebec. The government will have to step in and support farmers.
A quick action that the Canadian government should consider in addressing farmers' flagging cash flows is to delay the repayment of loans that farms received under the Canada emergency business account program during the pandemic. That would reduce the financial burden borne by farmers during this uncertain and turbulent time. We think the government should consider delaying repayment for at least two years to allow farmers the time to recover from the economic situation and the environmental context caused by last summer's poor weather.
I have left a copy of my entire statement, which contains all the details and figures, with MP Caroline Desbiens, who can forward them to you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Thanks to the entire committee.