Mr. Speaker, in 2008, the member for Lévis—Bellechasse came to Montmagny on behalf of the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food to announce $3 million in financial assistance for a company called PureCell Technologies Inc.
The company has since changed its name to PurGenesis Technologies. The number of promised jobs has multiplied, yet the factory remains empty.
This program was supposed to help market products that were ready to be put on the shelves. Five years later, the product is not even in production. What is more, PurGenesis Technologies has received another business start-up loan.
Why did PurGenesis Technologies receive financial assistance for a product that was not ready? What mechanisms are in place to ensure that these jobs we have heard so much about will be created?