Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to answer the member's question.
Quebec producers' net income from farming has indeed dropped less than that of producers in western Canada. There are several reasons for this, one being that our income support program has been stable for 25 years. Instead of fluctuating with the federal subsidy, Quebec takes what the federal government offers under the tripartite agreement and maintains the stability of our program. This is a big help. Quebec therefore plays a greater role than the other provinces in supporting its farmers. When there is a crisis, we pay our farmers and then we collect from Ottawa, which the other provinces do not do. They do the opposite.
If AIDA is not meeting farmers' needs, I think everyone who spoke this morning has shown why. Just applying is a nightmare requiring farmers to pay an accountant $1,000 to fill out the forms. Right from the word go, there is a problem