That's a business which is benefiting from climate change.
In fact, one of the biggest problems faced by these types of business leaders is that they must comply with regulations which are not necessarily adapted to the specific workplace conditions of their companies. For example, Quebec has had a parental insurance plan for about one year now, which is different from those of other provinces.
Let's take the case of a businessman who grows small fruit or vegetables and who employs foreign workers, such as Mexicans, on a seasonal basis. This businessman must, because of existing social programs, pay the same employment insurance premiums for these workers as he does for his permanent staff. This puts the seasonal workers and the permanent employees on equal footing. Perhaps we should give that a little more thought.
Lawmakers are beginning to adopt measures which take into account the size and specific conditions each business operates under. For too long, the Quebec government — even though the federal government also does not have a perfect record — based its policies on large companies. The reality of smaller businesses was not taken account, whether they were seasonal businesses or other types.
Over time, the size of a business was taken into consideration and we are beginning to see policies and laws which take this reality into account. When you develop your policies, I would encourage all federal or provincial legislators — and I will not get into a debate on areas of jurisdiction — to take the reality of these people into account.
I will conclude by saying that, on average, Quebeckers work between 32 and 33 hours per week. There has recently been a long debate on this subject, but I will not get into that issue this morning. Forty per cent of small- and medium-sized business owners work 40 hours or more a week, and 30 per cent of them work 60 hours or more. This applies only to sectors which produce goods and services. These people do not work these hours just to comply with regulations or legislation. So I think you should take this into account when you develop your policies, whether it be at the federal or provincial levels, or elsewhere.