“American tariffs are hurting Quebec twice as hard as the rest of the country, putting 170,000 jobs at risk. I want the government to give businesses a wage subsidy to protect these jobs.”

“Mr. Speaker, a month ago today, Donald Trump made utterly indefensible changes to his tariffs. Desjardins has shown that Quebeckers are the ones paying the price. Quebec is being hit twice as hard as the rest of the country. A quarter of our manufactured goods are now affected. The employers of 170,000 Quebeckers have been targeted since April 6. That is why Quebeckers need a wage subsidy, to protect jobs and offer businesses some relief. We have been asking for this for a month now. When is the government going to take action?”

“The government's business support is not helping the businesses that need it most, especially in Quebec. When will the government bring in a wage subsidy to protect them?”

“Mr. Speaker, no one is going to refuse the support, but it is poorly targeted. To quote the Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec, “For businesses whose survival is currently in jeopardy, this is not enough.” When support measures leave the most vulnerable businesses behind, I would not call that a success. That is a failure. As Desjardins has shown, the businesses most at risk are disproportionately those in Quebec. Quebeckers are the ones at risk. When will a wage subsidy be introduced to protect them?”

“Small businesses hurt by tariffs do not need loans. They need direct money and wage help without taking on debt. I want the government to give them better support now.”

“Mr. Speaker, the SMEs at risk of closing because of the tariffs do not need more loans. They need wage subsidies and direct support, without incurring debt. We do not want to be the bearer of bad news, but the crisis is far from over. Businesses are currently surviving thanks to contracts signed before the new tariffs took effect. Under the new tariffs, they are no longer competitive, and there will be no new contracts. The current crisis has not peaked. It is just the beginning, and the federal government must act now. Will the government improve its support measures to protect small businesses, please?”