These comments are direct quotations from the Hansard
documents.
Financial Aid for Tobacco Producers
Mr. Pierre Paquette (Joliette,
BQ): Mr. Speaker, several weeks before the election call, the
government announced $70 million in financial aid for tobacco producers in
Ontario and Quebec hit by plummeting demand. Seven months after the
election, tobacco producers in Quebec still do not know the terms of this
aid package.
What explanation can the
Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food give for such an unreasonably long
delay?
[English]
Hon. Wayne Easter
(Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food
(Rural Development), Lib.): Mr. Speaker, it is not very hard to
explain. The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, in discussions and
through the department with industry, wants to do the right thing by
producers and that is what we are trying to do: to continue to hold those
kinds of discussions and at the end of the day meet our obligations and
protect the needs of producers.
[Translation]
Mr. Pierre Paquette (Joliette,
BQ): Mr. Speaker, according to staff at the Department of Agriculture
and Agri-Food, aid for Quebec is being blocked by a dispute in Ontario.
Given that the situation
in Quebec is urgent, that the number of tobacco producers has dropped from
55 to 17 in two years and that they need help to switch to alternate
crops, will the minister take action and immediately implement a
compensation package for Quebec tobacco producers, who are almost all
located in the Lanaudière region?
[English]
Hon. Wayne Easter
(Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food
(Rural Development), Lib.): Again, Mr. Speaker, the Government of
Canada takes into account the interests of all producers in the country,
including those in the province of Quebec as well as those in Ontario. The
bottom line at the end of the day is that we want to do the right thing
for producers in terms of protecting their interests into the future for
their efforts they have put into that industry.
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