Citizenship and Immigration committee  As regards the cartels—

Citizenship and Immigration committee  It's actually not rocket science. Even if the workers have open work permits, if good employers are offering good working conditions and good accommodation, the workers will want to work for them and won't look elsewhere, quite the contrary. On the other hand, if they're employed by people like Jean Lemay, they'll just quit their jobs and go to work somewhere else that offers better working conditions.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  That's why we're in favour of an open work permit, but a sectoral one.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  RATTMAQ frequently files complaints with the federal government. The main issue raised in those complaints isn't the fact that inspections are being conducted virtually rather than in person on the farm but that we never get any feedback. We're told it's confidential. Consequently, it's hard to file complaints and continue doing so when we get no feedback, particularly since workers that we talked to on the ground haven't seen any change, even after complaints were filed.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  At RATTMAQ, we're having a lot of discussions with organizations that are involved in the round table, particularly the UPA and FERME, which is represented here today by Borja Torres. We're in favour of the idea of having an open permit, but we'd also agree on a sectoral permit.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I can give you a quick answer to your question by saying that RATTMAQ is a member of the coalition to raise the minimum wage in Quebec. It's clear to us that the minimum wage has to rise because people who are paid minimum wage clearly live below the poverty line. The coalition is called Minimum $18 now, but we're increasingly aiming for a minimum wage of $20 an hour in Quebec.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  It's the system that's the problem. Unfortunately, this is why there are employers like Jean Lemay. It isn't just Jean Lemay. I've been handling temporary foreign workers since 2008, and I've seen all kinds of conditions on farms, including slavery-like situations. I agree with you that most employers treat their workers well.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Fortunately, we finally got some good decisions after Mr. Lightbound intervened. The refusals started to appear in January. We received eight negative decisions, although the cases seemed to be very similar to previous ones. There was quite a radical change in that regard after you intervened.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  No. We don't know which official made those decisions. We just have a number. Curiously, it was the same number each time.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  No, it's not an attack on all employers. The problem isn't the employers; the problem is the program.