Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Our industry depends on the economy of each province in terms of international and local tourism. It is important that we have funds, not loans, to revive our industry. Our industry needs funds to recover what has been lost and to help it prosper and continue to operate, just like the airlines and rail companies, which are also in the tourism business and help Canadians discover their country.

Finance committee  Our federation is currently discussing insurance. There is no reason to believe that we will have any trouble obtaining insurance for our new or existing customers, who we hope will come back to us. There is no indication that we will have trouble in Quebec in this regard. We also provide interprovincial transportation to Niagara Falls, Ontario, and there is no indication that we will have any trouble in that regard.

Finance committee  Thank you for the question. In Quebec, elementary students are already back at school, so we are providing school bus service, but we are not providing any chartered transportation other than school buses. We have implemented measures in accordance with the recommendations made by workplace health and safety authorities and the Institut national de santé publique du Québec, which have provided us with suggestions on how to protect our drivers, in particular by providing them with personal protective equipment.

Finance committee  It is hard to evaluate that right now. We have had great difficulty obtaining personal protective equipment due to the shortage of these products, whether it be surgical masks, goggles or hand-washing equipment. Another reason this is difficult to assess is that we do not know how long these measures will need to be maintained.

Finance committee  Resuming operations will be very difficult and very gradual. The fact that we have been deprived of our revenue for several months will make it difficult to maintain the infrastructure and buildings, as I mentioned earlier. Our businesses, like many others, are simply not designed to support a total lack of income for six to twelve months.

Finance committee  Thank you for the question, Mr. Ste-Marie. Currently, not many programs help our industry. Provincially, there are loan programs and training assistance programs but no direct support for our industry. We are not covered by any existing Quebec program, from the ministry of tourism, the ministry of transportation or the ministry of the economy and innovation.

Finance committee  The federal measures, including the wage subsidy, have allowed us to maintain the basic structure of our organizations. I am talking about the companies that are eligible. It has not permitted us to retain our drivers, as the current period has just been extended. We did not have that information in the beginning.

Finance committee  Indeed you did. Our financial structure is already fully loaded. Adding loans just to meet immediate cash flow needs therefore makes the structure more cumbersome. There is really a way to support what has been lost, and it would also help us keep our infrastructure in place. However, for the recovery, it will be important to see what can be done to allow travellers to continue to travel across the country and to develop mass tourism, which is economically essential for Canada and Quebec.

Finance committee  We sent letters to the federal government, specifically to the Department of Transport and the Department of Finance. We received responses, but of course, we have to consider jurisdictions, both provincial and federal. That is where we are now.

Finance committee  Good afternoon. Thank you for having me appear before the Standing Committee on Finance. I am president of Groupe Autocar Jeannois, a company specializing in passenger transportation, specifically tourist charters. I am also president of the Fédération des transporteurs par autobus, which represents all types of passenger transportation in Quebec.