Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
As I was saying, for many residents of the municipality, this was a deeply traumatizing chapter. The cohabitation guide went a long way toward improving the social climate. Still, when the company proposed this major project, one that would revitalize the municipality, it tore the community apart. At such times, standing in opposition takes courage because, in small municipalities where everyone knows everyone, one feels like a target.
Something similar happened again recently. While the people of Rouyn-Noranda were waiting for the results of the ministerial authorization in March 2023, residents and even the mayor all learned simultaneously that the neighbourhood near the Horne Smelter would become a buffer zone. Once again, 200 families were affected by the news. Uncertainty affects the people there people to this day.
Yes, compensation is paid in these situations, but it is not necessarily enough to meet the needs of the people affected. That requires negotiations, but above all, it requires time, empathy and compassion.
That is one of the reasons why, in 2022, the Université du Québec en Abitibi—Témiscamingue, or UQAT, took the lead in creating the Laboratoire sur l'acceptabilité sociale de l'exploitation des ressources naturelles, a laboratory focused on the social acceptability of natural resource development. It brings together researchers, organizations and members of the public who collaborate on developing social acceptance mechanisms that respect the concerns and interests of the various parties involved. In our region, it involved taking a step toward improving dialogue so that we could identify mechanisms better suited to today's reality. An expropriation process, where people are presented with a decision made in advance, no longer works. People want to have their say. I hope that UQAT's example will serve as inspiration to the government.
I was the indigenous relations critic for a long time. The consultation process that the government put in place for Bill C‑5 was deplorable. The government sent a letter and then said that it had consulted with first nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. The government basically gave five days' notice then said that the consultation had been done. However, consultation does not necessarily mean agreeing with a project. It is not just a matter of saying that someone has been heard. It involves actively participating in discussions, trying to understand each other's points of view, trying to find solutions together to address everyone's concerns and reaching out to each other.
That is precisely what the people of Mirabel are asking for: to have their say. They want to feel heard, to be able to share their concerns and to get answers. They do not want to find out from the media or in a coffee shop that the high-speed rail project is going to pass by their homes or through their farmland.
Moving fast with this kind of project never works. The current government wants to override every law. It wants to steamroll people and move very quickly. We know what that leads to: IT contracts with skyrocketing costs. It leads to projects that fail miserably. All this happens because, instead of doing things right, they want to rush—at the speed of a high-speed train.
Since I am now the critic for agriculture and agri-food, I will echo the words of Marcel Papin, president of the Lanaudière section of the UPA, who said that everything is moving too fast, and no one is taking the time to answer the real questions. That is exactly the mistake that is being made in most major projects, both in my region and here today.
Farmers have significant concerns. Guillaume Alary, a farmer and president of the UPA of L'Assomption-Les Moulins, points out that the government does not need to expropriate land to break up a farm, it simply needs to split the farm up. Stéphane Alary, president of the Outaouais and Laurentians regional section of the UPA, said that agricultural land is often chosen first because it costs less for the developer. He also questions the idea of splitting up land, asking, “How will producers get their hay? They're not going to put a footbridge over every piece of land that's cut off.” That much is clear.
That is precisely where agricultural producers need to be reassured. The government needs to consult with them, listen to their concerns and meet with them. Sure, it can send a registered letter or an email, but the decent thing to do is to go and meet with people and talk to them.
Alternative solutions will have to be found to allow them to access their lands. It is also important to recall that many people still remember the expropriations of 1969. Some of them will experience a second time what farmers of that era experienced, that is, the expropriation of their land only to have it returned later. One local farmer told the Mirabel newspaper Le Nord that many farmers he knows were able to reclaim old lots and short strips but then resold them, because there was the possibility of a second expropriation. Another farmer told Le Nord that, if we are as important as the government claims we are, why is Alto not holding real public consultations in Mirabel? That is a good question.
Examples from my region have made it very clear. A mining company that takes responsibility and engages in discourse with the public is more likely to obtain social licence. That certainly takes time, but it is always the best approach.
The same farmer also added an interesting comment, noting that by giving this project to a federally created firm, the Liberals seem to want to wash their hands of it. That is problematic. These stories from agricultural producers deserve to be heard. Today, I spoke on their behalf. I want them to know that the Bloc Québécois is listening to them. We are here to help them. Major projects require us to do things right. We are not dealing with a parcel of land; we are dealing with people who have put their hearts into their land. They have made it their home, their community.
Farming is a generational story, from father to son. This land represents a family history. Six to 10 generations of hard-working people took care of a piece of land in that part of Quebec, the Mirabel region. It is often said that the Mirabel region is home to the best farmland in Quebec, the most fertile land in Quebec.
In closing, I would like to remind the House of the great Serge Bouchard. While acknowledging that modern humans wanted to live in cities, he spoke with admiration of the old farmer, the one who cleared the land, who loved and walked the land. As he said so well, the land is what makes the ancestor culturally unique. We need to think of them in this process as well.