COVID-19 Response Measures Act  Madam Speaker, in my riding of Beauce, dozens of businesses are at risk of closing down or are being forced to slow down production. This is not because they cannot sell their products, but because they are in need of workers, and factories are not the only ones with this problem.

Employment  Mr. Speaker, many businesses rely heavily on skilled foreign workers who have already been recruited to keep them afloat. My riding is on the U.S. border. The small businesses in my riding have said that, if they do not go out of business, they are going to transfer their operations to the United States.

COVID-19 Pandemic and Other Matters  Madam Chair, my office is trying to help the largest possible number of businesses in my riding. However, the system for immigration and temporary workers is highly problematic. The labour market studies take far too much time. To my knowledge, these requests previously went directly to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

COVID-19 Pandemic and Other Matters  Madam Chair, my question is for the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. Supply-managed farmers in Canada's agriculture sector have been waiting patiently for the compensation they were promised under previous international trade deals. The Liberal government included compensation for these farmers in its platform, as well as in the minister's mandate letter, to make up for its poor international negotiations.

Business of the House  Mr. Speaker, yesterday I left Sainte-Marie-de-Beauce at four in the morning to get to Ottawa so I could work on moving an important bill for Canadian entrepreneurs forward for a vote. To my great surprise, when I arrived, I found out that the Prime Minister, the person who convened the House, was taking a personal day.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship  Mr. Speaker, on February 6, I sent a letter to the Minister of Immigration about the problems being caused by delays and red tape for foreign workers. I never got an answer. In committee on May 22, the minister told me that he would call me. I am still waiting for that call. The pandemic has only made the situation worse.

Chaudière-Appalaches Desjardins Tourism Awards  Mr. Speaker, the Chaudière-Appalaches Desjardins Tourism Awards recently announced their winners. I want to congratulate the winners from my riding, the Marland blueberry farm in Sainte-Marie, which took the categories “Innovation in tourism development” and “Food services — Farm to table”, and the Saint-Paul-de-Cumberland Church/Harbottle Garden in Saint-Simon-les-Mines, which won in the category “Tourist attractions — History, arts and culture”.

Further COVID-19 Measures Act  Madam Speaker, I commend my colleague on his speech. Often people say that this side of the House does not offer any proposals. However, the Conservatives proposed that a change be made to the CERB, that it be regressive in order to make it more accessible to people who would want to go back to work.

Taxation  Mr. Speaker, CMHC spent $250,000 on a study to determine how the government could squeeze more taxes out of homeowners. Will the government promise to put an end to this practice and stop always demanding more and more taxes, especially from honest Canadian workers? Will it promise here and now that it will not punish them and that it will drop the idea of a home equity tax on primary residences?

Agriculture and Agri-Food  Mr. Speaker, Canada's poultry and egg producers are at the end of their rope. The government promised support measures to offset losses resulting from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, but that compensation has yet to be paid. CUSMA is now in effect, which means more losses for them, yet these farmers continue to wait.

Canadian Dairy Commission Act  Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate my colleague on his excellent speech. He is always so passionate and engaging. I think we agree on some points. I do not understand why we are still debating this today. For more than three weeks now, we have been calling on the government to take substantial action for Canada's agri-food sector.

Canadian Dairy Commission Act  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his comments. In my riding, there is an agri-food processing firm, a slaughterhouse, that employs 1,200 people. Many of these employees had to leave the production line due to the public health measures. These measures ought to be respected, to be sure, but as a result the plant's processing capacity has been significantly reduced.

Canadian Dairy Commission Act  Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for the question. I think it has been proven for several years now that these programs do not work. I am sure that the minister is aware that people have been saying for more than five years now that these programs are not working because people have to exhaust all their resources before they can access them.

Canadian Dairy Commission Act  Mr. Speaker, today I rise in the House to speak to government Bill C-16, which seeks to amend existing legislation on the loan capacity of the Canadian Dairy Commission. Although this amendment is welcome and important, I wonder what took the government so long to get around to it.

Canadian Dairy Commission Act  Mr. Speaker, my question is for the minister. Earlier, I neglected to thank her for introducing the bill to increase the borrowing capacity of the Canadian Dairy Commission. My question concerns processors and dairy production. There are people working in the dairy processing industry right across Canada.