Mr. Chair, if your house goes up in flames, you have insurance to cover it. In Quebec, we had crop insurance. We also had an entire management system to assist farmers. However, when damage is caused by an outside party, for instance, if someone sets your house on fire, no one asks how much it will cost to restore it.
When the ice storm hit, did anyone ask how much it cost to repair the damage nature had caused? It is the same for the Saguenay flood. We reached into our pockets and the governments invested the necessary amount of money to help people get through it.
I have not calculated how much it will cost. However, one thing is certain; the current crisis will cost Canadian and Quebec agriculture a fortune in the medium and long terms. People need more help. When a person loses $500 an animal and it is not his fault or responsibility, it does not matter how much it costs. He should be compensated.
The government dipped into the employment insurance fund with its $45 billion. Maybe we could take half a billion, a billion or a billion and a half from the fund to help farmers get through this crisis that they did not bring on themselves and for which they are not to blame. It is the least we can do to show support.