Madam Chair, I didn't really hear a yes to that question, so I'll repeat it. Does the government really think it's appropriate for tax-avoiding corporations to receive funding provided for by taxpayers?

We will keep going after companies that engage in tax evasion. I want to be clear. We will target those who are responsible, not innocent workers. An employee is an employee, regardless of who they work for. The wage subsidy program does not hand a blank cheque over to employers. It is meant to help Canadians pay their bills, keep their jobs and get through the crisis.

Madam Chair, the agriculture funding announced by the government earlier this week amounts to less than 10% of what the Canadian Federation of Agriculture estimates will be required to help farmers weather this crisis. Why has the Minister of Agriculture shortchanged our farmers?

Madam Chair, this is one more step. This was one more step. We have already committed significant support to our farmers through different programs, and we will do more. I have to remind my colleague that we have put in $5 billion through FCC, $50 million for the temporary foreign workers, two times $50 million for pork and beef producers this week, and $77 million for food processing. This is only the beginning, and we should not forget that the business risk management programs are still there to offer support.


We will keep going after companies that engage in tax evasion. I want to be clear. We will target those who are responsible, not innocent workers. An employee is an employee, regardless of who they work for. The wage subsidy program does not hand a blank cheque over to employers. It is meant to help Canadians pay their bills, keep their jobs and get through the crisis.

Madam Chair, the agriculture funding announced by the government earlier this week amounts to less than 10% of what the Canadian Federation of Agriculture estimates will be required to help farmers weather this crisis. Why has the Minister of Agriculture shortchanged our farmers?

Madam Chair, this is one more step. This was one more step. We have already committed significant support to our farmers through different programs, and we will do more. I have to remind my colleague that we have put in $5 billion through FCC, $50 million for the temporary foreign workers, two times $50 million for pork and beef producers this week, and $77 million for food processing. This is only the beginning, and we should not forget that the business risk management programs are still there to offer support.

Yes, Madam Chair, but we're nearly two months into this pandemic and this announcement only came this week. Farmers need certainty. When can farmers expect further updates on funding, and how much will the government be providing?


Madam Chair, the agriculture funding announced by the government earlier this week amounts to less than 10% of what the Canadian Federation of Agriculture estimates will be required to help farmers weather this crisis. Why has the Minister of Agriculture shortchanged our farmers?

Madam Chair, this is one more step. This was one more step. We have already committed significant support to our farmers through different programs, and we will do more. I have to remind my colleague that we have put in $5 billion through FCC, $50 million for the temporary foreign workers, two times $50 million for pork and beef producers this week, and $77 million for food processing. This is only the beginning, and we should not forget that the business risk management programs are still there to offer support.

Yes, Madam Chair, but we're nearly two months into this pandemic and this announcement only came this week. Farmers need certainty. When can farmers expect further updates on funding, and how much will the government be providing?

Madam Chair, we are working closely with the farmers and their representatives to identify where the gaps are, but once again, we have made improvements to the AgriStability program. They can get, depending on the province, either 50% or 75% in advance payments, and they can also, right now, access their AgriInvest program. There is more than $2 billion ready to access today, if they have


Madam Chair, this is one more step. This was one more step. We have already committed significant support to our farmers through different programs, and we will do more. I have to remind my colleague that we have put in $5 billion through FCC, $50 million for the temporary foreign workers, two times $50 million for pork and beef producers this week, and $77 million for food processing. This is only the beginning, and we should not forget that the business risk management programs are still there to offer support.

Yes, Madam Chair, but we're nearly two months into this pandemic and this announcement only came this week. Farmers need certainty. When can farmers expect further updates on funding, and how much will the government be providing?

Madam Chair, we are working closely with the farmers and their representatives to identify where the gaps are, but once again, we have made improvements to the AgriStability program. They can get, depending on the province, either 50% or 75% in advance payments, and they can also, right now, access their AgriInvest program. There is more than $2 billion ready to access today, if they have


Yes, Madam Chair, but we're nearly two months into this pandemic and this announcement only came this week. Farmers need certainty. When can farmers expect further updates on funding, and how much will the government be providing?

Madam Chair, we are working closely with the farmers and their representatives to identify where the gaps are, but once again, we have made improvements to the AgriStability program. They can get, depending on the province, either 50% or 75% in advance payments, and they can also, right now, access their AgriInvest program. There is more than $2 billion ready to access today, if they have

Madam Chair, federal disability recipients and seniors on fixed incomes have been hardest hit by cost of living increases from COVID-19. If we acknowledge that $2,000 per month is the minimum needed to get through this time, why are they being asked to survive on far less? When can they expect assistance, and how much will they receive?


Madam Chair, we are working closely with the farmers and their representatives to identify where the gaps are, but once again, we have made improvements to the AgriStability program. They can get, depending on the province, either 50% or 75% in advance payments, and they can also, right now, access their AgriInvest program. There is more than $2 billion ready to access today, if they have

Madam Chair, federal disability recipients and seniors on fixed incomes have been hardest hit by cost of living increases from COVID-19. If we acknowledge that $2,000 per month is the minimum needed to get through this time, why are they being asked to survive on far less? When can they expect assistance, and how much will they receive?

Madam Chair, I want to make sure people realize that we have provided some assistance through the GST supplementary benefit. We are also providing support to those who are still working, and we have done that by allowing them to access the CERB. There is more work to be done, so you'll be hearing more in the near future.


Madam Chair, federal disability recipients and seniors on fixed incomes have been hardest hit by cost of living increases from COVID-19. If we acknowledge that $2,000 per month is the minimum needed to get through this time, why are they being asked to survive on far less? When can they expect assistance, and how much will they receive?

Madam Chair, I want to make sure people realize that we have provided some assistance through the GST supplementary benefit. We are also providing support to those who are still working, and we have done that by allowing them to access the CERB. There is more work to be done, so you'll be hearing more in the near future.

Madam Chair, as I think we've heard through today's question period, there are countless example of this government designing programs to exclude many small businesses that desperately need help. Whether it's the payroll requirements or other eligibility, we still, to this day, almost two months into the pandemic, have too many small businesses falling through the cracks. Madam Chair, why has the government taken this approach and when can we finally expect fixes to the whole system?


Madam Chair, federal disability recipients and seniors on fixed incomes have been hardest hit by cost of living increases from COVID-19. If we acknowledge that $2,000 per month is the minimum needed to get through this time, why are they being asked to survive on far less? When can they expect assistance, and how much will they receive?

Madam Chair, I want to make sure people realize that we have provided some assistance through the GST supplementary benefit. We are also providing support to those who are still working, and we have done that by allowing them to access the CERB. There is more work to be done, so you'll be hearing more in the near future.

Madam Chair, as I think we've heard through today's question period, there are countless example of this government designing programs to exclude many small businesses that desperately need help. Whether it's the payroll requirements or other eligibility, we still, to this day, almost two months into the pandemic, have too many small businesses falling through the cracks. Madam Chair, why has the government taken this approach and when can we finally expect fixes to the whole system?

Madam Chair, right from the get-go, we have been committed to making sure that Canadians are helped through this crisis, and that small businesses get the support that they need, so that we are saving businesses and jobs in this country. That is what we have done with many of our programs. You're seeing that we are also listening, so that we can modify them as we need. I want to assure the member that the work is not done. We continue to do this.


Madam Chair, I want to make sure people realize that we have provided some assistance through the GST supplementary benefit. We are also providing support to those who are still working, and we have done that by allowing them to access the CERB. There is more work to be done, so you'll be hearing more in the near future.

Madam Chair, as I think we've heard through today's question period, there are countless example of this government designing programs to exclude many small businesses that desperately need help. Whether it's the payroll requirements or other eligibility, we still, to this day, almost two months into the pandemic, have too many small businesses falling through the cracks. Madam Chair, why has the government taken this approach and when can we finally expect fixes to the whole system?

Madam Chair, right from the get-go, we have been committed to making sure that Canadians are helped through this crisis, and that small businesses get the support that they need, so that we are saving businesses and jobs in this country. That is what we have done with many of our programs. You're seeing that we are also listening, so that we can modify them as we need. I want to assure the member that the work is not done. We continue to do this.

Thank you. It is now over to Mr.Perron. Mr.Perron, you may go ahead.


Madam Chair, as I think we've heard through today's question period, there are countless example of this government designing programs to exclude many small businesses that desperately need help. Whether it's the payroll requirements or other eligibility, we still, to this day, almost two months into the pandemic, have too many small businesses falling through the cracks. Madam Chair, why has the government taken this approach and when can we finally expect fixes to the whole system?

Madam Chair, right from the get-go, we have been committed to making sure that Canadians are helped through this crisis, and that small businesses get the support that they need, so that we are saving businesses and jobs in this country. That is what we have done with many of our programs. You're seeing that we are also listening, so that we can modify them as we need. I want to assure the member that the work is not done. We continue to do this.

Thank you. It is now over to Mr.Perron. Mr.Perron, you may go ahead.

Thank you, Mr.Chair. My question will come as no surprise, since it has to do with agriculture. I hear the questions my fellow members are asking, and to be frank, I don't find the answers satisfactory. It is well and good to talk about existing programs, but they aren't working, so enough with that refrain. That's what people are telling us. It's not just members of the opposition saying it. This morning, both farmers and processors came together for a press conference at the Union des producteurs agricoles's head office in Longueuil. Six stakeholders from different sectors sounded the alarm. Can the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food therefore tell us when she will announce significant supports for the industry?


Madam Chair, right from the get-go, we have been committed to making sure that Canadians are helped through this crisis, and that small businesses get the support that they need, so that we are saving businesses and jobs in this country. That is what we have done with many of our programs. You're seeing that we are also listening, so that we can modify them as we need. I want to assure the member that the work is not done. We continue to do this.

Thank you. It is now over to Mr.Perron. Mr.Perron, you may go ahead.

Thank you, Mr.Chair. My question will come as no surprise, since it has to do with agriculture. I hear the questions my fellow members are asking, and to be frank, I don't find the answers satisfactory. It is well and good to talk about existing programs, but they aren't working, so enough with that refrain. That's what people are telling us. It's not just members of the opposition saying it. This morning, both farmers and processors came together for a press conference at the Union des producteurs agricoles's head office in Longueuil. Six stakeholders from different sectors sounded the alarm. Can the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food therefore tell us when she will announce significant supports for the industry?

We have already announced significant amounts of support, and more is on the way. I'd like to correct my fellow member. It's not that the programs aren't working; it's that they aren't generous enough in farmers' eyes. That's why I'm working with my provincial counterparts to make improvements to programming, including AgriStability. Here's an example. After using the online AgriStability benefit estimator, a pork producer found out that he would get $11 per head, as they say in the industry. Pork producers are calling for $20 per head, so it's a good start, even though it's not enough and it isn't what they are asking for. We want to keep working together, but farmers have to access the money available to them through AgriStability.


Thank you. It is now over to Mr.Perron. Mr.Perron, you may go ahead.

Thank you, Mr.Chair. My question will come as no surprise, since it has to do with agriculture. I hear the questions my fellow members are asking, and to be frank, I don't find the answers satisfactory. It is well and good to talk about existing programs, but they aren't working, so enough with that refrain. That's what people are telling us. It's not just members of the opposition saying it. This morning, both farmers and processors came together for a press conference at the Union des producteurs agricoles's head office in Longueuil. Six stakeholders from different sectors sounded the alarm. Can the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food therefore tell us when she will announce significant supports for the industry?

We have already announced significant amounts of support, and more is on the way. I'd like to correct my fellow member. It's not that the programs aren't working; it's that they aren't generous enough in farmers' eyes. That's why I'm working with my provincial counterparts to make improvements to programming, including AgriStability. Here's an example. After using the online AgriStability benefit estimator, a pork producer found out that he would get $11 per head, as they say in the industry. Pork producers are calling for $20 per head, so it's a good start, even though it's not enough and it isn't what they are asking for. We want to keep working together, but farmers have to access the money available to them through AgriStability.

Now it's my turn to correct the minister. Even before the crisis, we were hearing from people in the industry that the programs were neither suitable nor sufficient. We are in a crisis, and this is an exceptional situation. In the case of mad cow disease, farmers received direct assistance. That's the kind of assistance we are calling for. We don't want to hear about growing levels of debt. Of course, this is a first step, but farms are already deep in debt. A few days ago, the government announced $50million in funding for pork producers, even though they are asking for $20per hog for 27million hogs. The government's support covers just 2.5million hogs. When I call the measure insufficient, I mean it is grossly insufficient. It's high time the government put forth more support. It has to stop saying that it's working hard and examining the situation. The government has to listen to the people in the industry. Again, this morning, they had some interesting proposals. When is the government going to announce a whole lot more in funding support? What's been announced so far is only 10% of what farmers are asking for.


Thank you, Mr.Chair. My question will come as no surprise, since it has to do with agriculture. I hear the questions my fellow members are asking, and to be frank, I don't find the answers satisfactory. It is well and good to talk about existing programs, but they aren't working, so enough with that refrain. That's what people are telling us. It's not just members of the opposition saying it. This morning, both farmers and processors came together for a press conference at the Union des producteurs agricoles's head office in Longueuil. Six stakeholders from different sectors sounded the alarm. Can the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food therefore tell us when she will announce significant supports for the industry?

We have already announced significant amounts of support, and more is on the way. I'd like to correct my fellow member. It's not that the programs aren't working; it's that they aren't generous enough in farmers' eyes. That's why I'm working with my provincial counterparts to make improvements to programming, including AgriStability. Here's an example. After using the online AgriStability benefit estimator, a pork producer found out that he would get $11 per head, as they say in the industry. Pork producers are calling for $20 per head, so it's a good start, even though it's not enough and it isn't what they are asking for. We want to keep working together, but farmers have to access the money available to them through AgriStability.

Now it's my turn to correct the minister. Even before the crisis, we were hearing from people in the industry that the programs were neither suitable nor sufficient. We are in a crisis, and this is an exceptional situation. In the case of mad cow disease, farmers received direct assistance. That's the kind of assistance we are calling for. We don't want to hear about growing levels of debt. Of course, this is a first step, but farms are already deep in debt. A few days ago, the government announced $50million in funding for pork producers, even though they are asking for $20per hog for 27million hogs. The government's support covers just 2.5million hogs. When I call the measure insufficient, I mean it is grossly insufficient. It's high time the government put forth more support. It has to stop saying that it's working hard and examining the situation. The government has to listen to the people in the industry. Again, this morning, they had some interesting proposals. When is the government going to announce a whole lot more in funding support? What's been announced so far is only 10% of what farmers are asking for.

We are going step by step. The programs are already in place. We are trying to make them better, and we are committed to doing that. These programs are cost-shared with the provinces. However, I would point out to the member that, when it comes to AgriRecovery, we made an exception to the rule. We are moving forward in every province to help pork and beef producers. That's two funding envelopes of $50million each to help cover the additional costs from the decrease in plant processing capacity. That's new money that was not yet available, money we introduced this week. As the Prime Minister said, we are going to do more, and we are moving forward step by step.


We have already announced significant amounts of support, and more is on the way. I'd like to correct my fellow member. It's not that the programs aren't working; it's that they aren't generous enough in farmers' eyes. That's why I'm working with my provincial counterparts to make improvements to programming, including AgriStability. Here's an example. After using the online AgriStability benefit estimator, a pork producer found out that he would get $11 per head, as they say in the industry. Pork producers are calling for $20 per head, so it's a good start, even though it's not enough and it isn't what they are asking for. We want to keep working together, but farmers have to access the money available to them through AgriStability.

Now it's my turn to correct the minister. Even before the crisis, we were hearing from people in the industry that the programs were neither suitable nor sufficient. We are in a crisis, and this is an exceptional situation. In the case of mad cow disease, farmers received direct assistance. That's the kind of assistance we are calling for. We don't want to hear about growing levels of debt. Of course, this is a first step, but farms are already deep in debt. A few days ago, the government announced $50million in funding for pork producers, even though they are asking for $20per hog for 27million hogs. The government's support covers just 2.5million hogs. When I call the measure insufficient, I mean it is grossly insufficient. It's high time the government put forth more support. It has to stop saying that it's working hard and examining the situation. The government has to listen to the people in the industry. Again, this morning, they had some interesting proposals. When is the government going to announce a whole lot more in funding support? What's been announced so far is only 10% of what farmers are asking for.

We are going step by step. The programs are already in place. We are trying to make them better, and we are committed to doing that. These programs are cost-shared with the provinces. However, I would point out to the member that, when it comes to AgriRecovery, we made an exception to the rule. We are moving forward in every province to help pork and beef producers. That's two funding envelopes of $50million each to help cover the additional costs from the decrease in plant processing capacity. That's new money that was not yet available, money we introduced this week. As the Prime Minister said, we are going to do more, and we are moving forward step by step.

What we concluded in committee this week is that the $125million is not new money. It was already earmarked for the programs. The government can't say that programs already exist and, at the same time, claim that they are new programs. Something doesn't add up there. What's more, there are different ways to make money available. I'd like to talk compensation. Everyone knows that the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement came into force a month earlier than planned, despite the promises that had been made. That resulted in additional losses, once again. An easy way to make money available without committing new spending is to provide compensation and announce programs for supply-managed sectors that got nothing. It seems to me that a time of crisis is a time for the government to practise some judo and announce measures. I am reaching out to the government, as I always do, but it has to come forward with announcements. Can we expect the government to announce measures in the coming days?


Now it's my turn to correct the minister. Even before the crisis, we were hearing from people in the industry that the programs were neither suitable nor sufficient. We are in a crisis, and this is an exceptional situation. In the case of mad cow disease, farmers received direct assistance. That's the kind of assistance we are calling for. We don't want to hear about growing levels of debt. Of course, this is a first step, but farms are already deep in debt. A few days ago, the government announced $50million in funding for pork producers, even though they are asking for $20per hog for 27million hogs. The government's support covers just 2.5million hogs. When I call the measure insufficient, I mean it is grossly insufficient. It's high time the government put forth more support. It has to stop saying that it's working hard and examining the situation. The government has to listen to the people in the industry. Again, this morning, they had some interesting proposals. When is the government going to announce a whole lot more in funding support? What's been announced so far is only 10% of what farmers are asking for.

We are going step by step. The programs are already in place. We are trying to make them better, and we are committed to doing that. These programs are cost-shared with the provinces. However, I would point out to the member that, when it comes to AgriRecovery, we made an exception to the rule. We are moving forward in every province to help pork and beef producers. That's two funding envelopes of $50million each to help cover the additional costs from the decrease in plant processing capacity. That's new money that was not yet available, money we introduced this week. As the Prime Minister said, we are going to do more, and we are moving forward step by step.

What we concluded in committee this week is that the $125million is not new money. It was already earmarked for the programs. The government can't say that programs already exist and, at the same time, claim that they are new programs. Something doesn't add up there. What's more, there are different ways to make money available. I'd like to talk compensation. Everyone knows that the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement came into force a month earlier than planned, despite the promises that had been made. That resulted in additional losses, once again. An easy way to make money available without committing new spending is to provide compensation and announce programs for supply-managed sectors that got nothing. It seems to me that a time of crisis is a time for the government to practise some judo and announce measures. I am reaching out to the government, as I always do, but it has to come forward with announcements. Can we expect the government to announce measures in the coming days?

Our commitment to farmers in supply-managed sectorsmeaning, egg, poultry and dairy farmersis as strong as it always was. I repeat, our commitment is clear. Dairy producers received their first payment at the end of last year or the beginning of this year. Support for poultry and egg farmers is in the form of investment programs, which aligns well with the recovery. At this time, we are focusing on emergency programs to help farmers hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. When it comes to the dairy sector, I hope I can count on your support. As you know, legislative changes are needed to grant the Canadian Dairy Commission's request and increase its borrowing limit by $200million so it can buy more butter and cheese.


We are going step by step. The programs are already in place. We are trying to make them better, and we are committed to doing that. These programs are cost-shared with the provinces. However, I would point out to the member that, when it comes to AgriRecovery, we made an exception to the rule. We are moving forward in every province to help pork and beef producers. That's two funding envelopes of $50million each to help cover the additional costs from the decrease in plant processing capacity. That's new money that was not yet available, money we introduced this week. As the Prime Minister said, we are going to do more, and we are moving forward step by step.

What we concluded in committee this week is that the $125million is not new money. It was already earmarked for the programs. The government can't say that programs already exist and, at the same time, claim that they are new programs. Something doesn't add up there. What's more, there are different ways to make money available. I'd like to talk compensation. Everyone knows that the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement came into force a month earlier than planned, despite the promises that had been made. That resulted in additional losses, once again. An easy way to make money available without committing new spending is to provide compensation and announce programs for supply-managed sectors that got nothing. It seems to me that a time of crisis is a time for the government to practise some judo and announce measures. I am reaching out to the government, as I always do, but it has to come forward with announcements. Can we expect the government to announce measures in the coming days?

Our commitment to farmers in supply-managed sectorsmeaning, egg, poultry and dairy farmersis as strong as it always was. I repeat, our commitment is clear. Dairy producers received their first payment at the end of last year or the beginning of this year. Support for poultry and egg farmers is in the form of investment programs, which aligns well with the recovery. At this time, we are focusing on emergency programs to help farmers hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. When it comes to the dairy sector, I hope I can count on your support. As you know, legislative changes are needed to grant the Canadian Dairy Commission's request and increase its borrowing limit by $200million so it can buy more butter and cheese.


What we concluded in committee this week is that the $125million is not new money. It was already earmarked for the programs. The government can't say that programs already exist and, at the same time, claim that they are new programs. Something doesn't add up there. What's more, there are different ways to make money available. I'd like to talk compensation. Everyone knows that the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement came into force a month earlier than planned, despite the promises that had been made. That resulted in additional losses, once again. An easy way to make money available without committing new spending is to provide compensation and announce programs for supply-managed sectors that got nothing. It seems to me that a time of crisis is a time for the government to practise some judo and announce measures. I am reaching out to the government, as I always do, but it has to come forward with announcements. Can we expect the government to announce measures in the coming days?

Our commitment to farmers in supply-managed sectorsmeaning, egg, poultry and dairy farmersis as strong as it always was. I repeat, our commitment is clear. Dairy producers received their first payment at the end of last year or the beginning of this year. Support for poultry and egg farmers is in the form of investment programs, which aligns well with the recovery. At this time, we are focusing on emergency programs to help farmers hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. When it comes to the dairy sector, I hope I can count on your support. As you know, legislative changes are needed to grant the Canadian Dairy Commission's request and increase its borrowing limit by $200million so it can buy more butter and cheese.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, we're all inundated, as we've heard during this entire question period, with Canadians' concerns about the economic restrictions and the social restrictions that they're under. Over the last couple of months, the WHO has given one very consistent message in terms of coming out of those economic and social restrictions. On March 16, Dr. Tedros said in his briefing, We have a simple message for all countries: test, test, test. On March 25, 44 days ago, he said, Aggressive measures to find, isolate, test, treat and trace are not only the best and fastest way out of extreme social and economic restrictionstheyre also the best way to prevent them. Does the minister agree with the WHO that relentless testing and tracing are critical to a successful economic and social relaunch strategy in Canada?


Our commitment to farmers in supply-managed sectorsmeaning, egg, poultry and dairy farmersis as strong as it always was. I repeat, our commitment is clear. Dairy producers received their first payment at the end of last year or the beginning of this year. Support for poultry and egg farmers is in the form of investment programs, which aligns well with the recovery. At this time, we are focusing on emergency programs to help farmers hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. When it comes to the dairy sector, I hope I can count on your support. As you know, legislative changes are needed to grant the Canadian Dairy Commission's request and increase its borrowing limit by $200million so it can buy more butter and cheese.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, we're all inundated, as we've heard during this entire question period, with Canadians' concerns about the economic restrictions and the social restrictions that they're under. Over the last couple of months, the WHO has given one very consistent message in terms of coming out of those economic and social restrictions. On March 16, Dr. Tedros said in his briefing, We have a simple message for all countries: test, test, test. On March 25, 44 days ago, he said, Aggressive measures to find, isolate, test, treat and trace are not only the best and fastest way out of extreme social and economic restrictionstheyre also the best way to prevent them. Does the minister agree with the WHO that relentless testing and tracing are critical to a successful economic and social relaunch strategy in Canada?

Thanks to the member for the very astute observation and question. Absolutely, we agree that testing and contact tracing will form an important part of our response to living with COVID. We've been investing heavily in ensuring that we have the lab capacity, the collaboration across provinces and territories, and the variety of testing options to help us increase our capacity to test. We are aiming right now for a high volume of tests, but I will also say that in Canada we have one of the highest testing rates in the world. Although we're doing well, I can assure him that I am with him and I believe we need to do more.


Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, we're all inundated, as we've heard during this entire question period, with Canadians' concerns about the economic restrictions and the social restrictions that they're under. Over the last couple of months, the WHO has given one very consistent message in terms of coming out of those economic and social restrictions. On March 16, Dr. Tedros said in his briefing, We have a simple message for all countries: test, test, test. On March 25, 44 days ago, he said, Aggressive measures to find, isolate, test, treat and trace are not only the best and fastest way out of extreme social and economic restrictionstheyre also the best way to prevent them. Does the minister agree with the WHO that relentless testing and tracing are critical to a successful economic and social relaunch strategy in Canada?

Thanks to the member for the very astute observation and question. Absolutely, we agree that testing and contact tracing will form an important part of our response to living with COVID. We've been investing heavily in ensuring that we have the lab capacity, the collaboration across provinces and territories, and the variety of testing options to help us increase our capacity to test. We are aiming right now for a high volume of tests, but I will also say that in Canada we have one of the highest testing rates in the world. Although we're doing well, I can assure him that I am with him and I believe we need to do more.

I have some really quick questions for follow-up. First, what is Canada's current testing capability?


Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, we're all inundated, as we've heard during this entire question period, with Canadians' concerns about the economic restrictions and the social restrictions that they're under. Over the last couple of months, the WHO has given one very consistent message in terms of coming out of those economic and social restrictions. On March 16, Dr. Tedros said in his briefing, We have a simple message for all countries: test, test, test. On March 25, 44 days ago, he said, Aggressive measures to find, isolate, test, treat and trace are not only the best and fastest way out of extreme social and economic restrictionstheyre also the best way to prevent them. Does the minister agree with the WHO that relentless testing and tracing are critical to a successful economic and social relaunch strategy in Canada?

Thanks to the member for the very astute observation and question. Absolutely, we agree that testing and contact tracing will form an important part of our response to living with COVID. We've been investing heavily in ensuring that we have the lab capacity, the collaboration across provinces and territories, and the variety of testing options to help us increase our capacity to test. We are aiming right now for a high volume of tests, but I will also say that in Canada we have one of the highest testing rates in the world. Although we're doing well, I can assure him that I am with him and I believe we need to do more.

I have some really quick questions for follow-up. First, what is Canada's current testing capability?

Mr. Chair, as I mentioned to his colleagues yesterday, we have currently the capacity to do approximately 60,000 tests per day across the country.


Thanks to the member for the very astute observation and question. Absolutely, we agree that testing and contact tracing will form an important part of our response to living with COVID. We've been investing heavily in ensuring that we have the lab capacity, the collaboration across provinces and territories, and the variety of testing options to help us increase our capacity to test. We are aiming right now for a high volume of tests, but I will also say that in Canada we have one of the highest testing rates in the world. Although we're doing well, I can assure him that I am with him and I believe we need to do more.

I have some really quick questions for follow-up. First, what is Canada's current testing capability?

Mr. Chair, as I mentioned to his colleagues yesterday, we have currently the capacity to do approximately 60,000 tests per day across the country.

How many tests were conducted each day on average in Canada last week?


I have some really quick questions for follow-up. First, what is Canada's current testing capability?

Mr. Chair, as I mentioned to his colleagues yesterday, we have currently the capacity to do approximately 60,000 tests per day across the country.

How many tests were conducted each day on average in Canada last week?

Mr. Chair, it's hard for me to get that exact number, but I will get back to him with the exact number.


Mr. Chair, as I mentioned to his colleagues yesterday, we have currently the capacity to do approximately 60,000 tests per day across the country.

How many tests were conducted each day on average in Canada last week?

Mr. Chair, it's hard for me to get that exact number, but I will get back to him with the exact number.

I'll save you the time. The exact number was 28,851, on average, every day last week. That's a gap of 30,000 from what your stated testing capability is. I'll give another quote from Dr. Tam, back on April 22, 15 days ago. She said, As a first tranche, roughly close to 60,000 is where the provinces can potentially expand to as a target already. Does the minister happen to know, ballpark, what the average number of daily tests in Canada has been since that statement?


How many tests were conducted each day on average in Canada last week?

Mr. Chair, it's hard for me to get that exact number, but I will get back to him with the exact number.

I'll save you the time. The exact number was 28,851, on average, every day last week. That's a gap of 30,000 from what your stated testing capability is. I'll give another quote from Dr. Tam, back on April 22, 15 days ago. She said, As a first tranche, roughly close to 60,000 is where the provinces can potentially expand to as a target already. Does the minister happen to know, ballpark, what the average number of daily tests in Canada has been since that statement?

Your estimate was slightly higher than what my estimate was going to be, so that's a great piece of news. Listen, I will just say that I think if the premise here is that we could be doing more testing. I would agree, but I will also say that the provinces and territories are working incredibly hard on testing strategies that meet their own specific needs. I'm happy to have a conversation with the member later about that testing strategy. Dr. Tam works with all the chief public health officers across the country to ensure that their testing strategy is going to be applicable and appropriate for their particular jurisdictions. We, as the federal government, provide the capacity for them to conduct those tests.


Mr. Chair, it's hard for me to get that exact number, but I will get back to him with the exact number.

I'll save you the time. The exact number was 28,851, on average, every day last week. That's a gap of 30,000 from what your stated testing capability is. I'll give another quote from Dr. Tam, back on April 22, 15 days ago. She said, As a first tranche, roughly close to 60,000 is where the provinces can potentially expand to as a target already. Does the minister happen to know, ballpark, what the average number of daily tests in Canada has been since that statement?

Your estimate was slightly higher than what my estimate was going to be, so that's a great piece of news. Listen, I will just say that I think if the premise here is that we could be doing more testing. I would agree, but I will also say that the provinces and territories are working incredibly hard on testing strategies that meet their own specific needs. I'm happy to have a conversation with the member later about that testing strategy. Dr. Tam works with all the chief public health officers across the country to ensure that their testing strategy is going to be applicable and appropriate for their particular jurisdictions. We, as the federal government, provide the capacity for them to conduct those tests.

Following up on that, is there a jurisdiction in Canada where relentless testing is not the appropriate strategy as provinces consider relaunching?


I'll save you the time. The exact number was 28,851, on average, every day last week. That's a gap of 30,000 from what your stated testing capability is. I'll give another quote from Dr. Tam, back on April 22, 15 days ago. She said, As a first tranche, roughly close to 60,000 is where the provinces can potentially expand to as a target already. Does the minister happen to know, ballpark, what the average number of daily tests in Canada has been since that statement?

Your estimate was slightly higher than what my estimate was going to be, so that's a great piece of news. Listen, I will just say that I think if the premise here is that we could be doing more testing. I would agree, but I will also say that the provinces and territories are working incredibly hard on testing strategies that meet their own specific needs. I'm happy to have a conversation with the member later about that testing strategy. Dr. Tam works with all the chief public health officers across the country to ensure that their testing strategy is going to be applicable and appropriate for their particular jurisdictions. We, as the federal government, provide the capacity for them to conduct those tests.

Following up on that, is there a jurisdiction in Canada where relentless testing is not the appropriate strategy as provinces consider relaunching?

Each province and territory has its own outbreak and its own epidemic. For example, in British Columbia, where there are relatively fewer cases in general and less disease activity, they may have a different testing strategy than a province like Ontario, which is currently struggling with more outbreaks.


Your estimate was slightly higher than what my estimate was going to be, so that's a great piece of news. Listen, I will just say that I think if the premise here is that we could be doing more testing. I would agree, but I will also say that the provinces and territories are working incredibly hard on testing strategies that meet their own specific needs. I'm happy to have a conversation with the member later about that testing strategy. Dr. Tam works with all the chief public health officers across the country to ensure that their testing strategy is going to be applicable and appropriate for their particular jurisdictions. We, as the federal government, provide the capacity for them to conduct those tests.

Following up on that, is there a jurisdiction in Canada where relentless testing is not the appropriate strategy as provinces consider relaunching?

Each province and territory has its own outbreak and its own epidemic. For example, in British Columbia, where there are relatively fewer cases in general and less disease activity, they may have a different testing strategy than a province like Ontario, which is currently struggling with more outbreaks.

Given your comment that our current testing capability is 60,000, and acknowledging that only at one point in the entire history of our COVID response, over several months, has our weekly average been over 30,000it was about 31,000 for one day on a rolling basisMinister, are you satisfied with our current testing amounts right now, given that we're testing 50% of what the public health officer advises would be best?


Following up on that, is there a jurisdiction in Canada where relentless testing is not the appropriate strategy as provinces consider relaunching?

Each province and territory has its own outbreak and its own epidemic. For example, in British Columbia, where there are relatively fewer cases in general and less disease activity, they may have a different testing strategy than a province like Ontario, which is currently struggling with more outbreaks.

Given your comment that our current testing capability is 60,000, and acknowledging that only at one point in the entire history of our COVID response, over several months, has our weekly average been over 30,000it was about 31,000 for one day on a rolling basisMinister, are you satisfied with our current testing amounts right now, given that we're testing 50% of what the public health officer advises would be best?


Alright um this is the beginning of the third meeting , the conceptual design meeting. Um our agenda should be um that we're opening the meeting , I have  the minutes from the previous meeting are on the shared f drive at this point. Um and we should each have a presentation to make. Um we have certain decisions to make and we have forty minutes total. It's twenty five after two at the moment , so forty minutes is five after three ,  um which I'll be keeping an eye on the clock for us. Okay.  Um there are the decisions we have to turn to , but we'll come back to them in a minute after I take us to the minutes of the previous meeting. Right um as we remember , I opened the meeting , the four of us were present , the meeting  the first meeting's minutes were reviewed and approved. Um Sarah , you presented a marketing research report um which pretty much rep represented that fifteen to thirty five year olds uh it has to be hand-held , power , channel , volume , number keys , possibly a speech recognition. And then Steph did a second presentation um that those functions plus streamlining them with big user-friendly keys that were easy to use. I think all of us agreed with those things. Kate presented a working design of  going after  going over the basics on the whiteboard um that it should be a simple mass-produced device , because of the twelve and a half Pence cost. Um but we did talk about possibly using rechargeable batteries and having a docking place as a selling point. Um and the new requirements that it for  be for T_V_ only um and that it include the l so slogan and colour of the uh corporate design be included. Um  the corporate image. So we agreed that the target market would be fifteen to thirty five with more money than sense , that were decision makers. Alternatively it would be a manufacturer to enclose it with the T_V_ , but it still should meet those parameters. Um and that the function we agreed was volume , power , numbers , enter , channels , a way to move between channels , easy to use and hand-held.  Um at that point we agreed that Sarah would look at the current cost of competition , what what do the current ones sell for. Um and Steph was gonna look at ec ergonomics. Kate was gonna look at cost and feasibility of the various possibilities that we discussed. And I was to type up these minutes and work on the final report. Is this a fair presentation of what our last meeting was ?


Okay. Right. So we're ready to close that and go back to our  That one. Right. We're up to the point of the  Go back. Um  the three presentations. So we're going to pull the plug on me and turn to Sarah. Is that okay ? Is that alright with everybody else ?


Okay. Right. So we're ready to close that and go back to our  That one. Right. We're up to the point of the  Go back. Um  the three presentations. So we're going to pull the plug on me and turn to Sarah. Is that okay ? Is that alright with everybody else ?

Especially since Kate asked to be last.  Sarah , I'm sorry if I misspelled your name , I didn't know whether it was S_A_R_A_ or  S_A_R_H_.


Especially since Kate asked to be last.  Sarah , I'm sorry if I misspelled your name , I didn't know whether it was S_A_R_A_ or  S_A_R_H_.


Okay , first thing I want to address is um one of the points that Florence brought up , which was uh current cost of the competition devices , similar to the ones that Stephanie uh showed us and and they're uh twenty to sixty Euros , depending on uh branding.


Okay , first thing I want to address is um one of the points that Florence brought up , which was uh current cost of the competition devices , similar to the ones that Stephanie uh showed us and and they're uh twenty to sixty Euros , depending on uh branding.

Some of them that have a higher brand recognition are on the more expensive end. But I think that with the current um price that we're searching for , we're well within , even on the lower end , of the uh of the market.


Some of them that have a higher brand recognition are on the more expensive end. But I think that with the current um price that we're searching for , we're well within , even on the lower end , of the uh of the market.

But I'm going to move on to more interesting um  more vibrant things.  So , I investigated the remote control market in greater detail , and my uh  the theme of what I was to work on was uh trend watch.


But I'm going to move on to more interesting um  more vibrant things.  So , I investigated the remote control market in greater detail , and my uh  the theme of what I was to work on was uh trend watch.


I'm glad to see the marketing budget is being so well spent on  .


I'm glad to see the marketing budget is being so well spent on  .

I know that you all are a distance from cutting edge marketing research ,


I'm glad to see the marketing budget is being so well spent on  .

I know that you all are a distance from cutting edge marketing research ,

so you know , I'm just gonna try to cloak it in really professional terms here. What's hot , fruit and veg. Spongy.


I'm glad to see the marketing budget is being so well spent on  .

I know that you all are a distance from cutting edge marketing research ,

so you know , I'm just gonna try to cloak it in really professional terms here. What's hot , fruit and veg. Spongy.

And this is all over the catwalks , Paris , Milan , and I'm talking about clothing , furniture , shoes.


I know that you all are a distance from cutting edge marketing research ,

so you know , I'm just gonna try to cloak it in really professional terms here. What's hot , fruit and veg. Spongy.

And this is all over the catwalks , Paris , Milan , and I'm talking about clothing , furniture , shoes.

This is really interesting change from past years ,


so you know , I'm just gonna try to cloak it in really professional terms here. What's hot , fruit and veg. Spongy.

And this is all over the catwalks , Paris , Milan , and I'm talking about clothing , furniture , shoes.

This is really interesting change from past years ,


And this is all over the catwalks , Paris , Milan , and I'm talking about clothing , furniture , shoes.

This is really interesting change from past years ,

because it is much more organic , um some would say approachable.  And I think if we're to refashion our view of what we want in a remote control , we should perhaps think about incorporating technologically interesting fabrics and some of the bold colours into a simple handset. So.  I also did a little research on um  what again are the most important priorities in uh decision making about uh purchasing. Fancy. Functional is out. And f the fancy , and that's exactly the term , I'm I'm thinking polished , elegant ,  you know , kind of innovative , but a cut above. This is twice as important as the next finding , which is technologically innovative. This is interesting , 'cause I think in the last meeting we were talking about technology as being so important , but maybe what's innovative is having it simple with um with uh technologically  superior fabrics or uh , you know , designed in interesting substances. Ease of use. Again , pretty low , I mean it's the top three , but each of the uh fancy and technologically innovative are far more important. So I think we should cloak the streamlined remote control device in a series of  fruit  fruit themed sleeves.


This is really interesting change from past years ,

because it is much more organic , um some would say approachable.  And I think if we're to refashion our view of what we want in a remote control , we should perhaps think about incorporating technologically interesting fabrics and some of the bold colours into a simple handset. So.  I also did a little research on um  what again are the most important priorities in uh decision making about uh purchasing. Fancy. Functional is out. And f the fancy , and that's exactly the term , I'm I'm thinking polished , elegant ,  you know , kind of innovative , but a cut above. This is twice as important as the next finding , which is technologically innovative. This is interesting , 'cause I think in the last meeting we were talking about technology as being so important , but maybe what's innovative is having it simple with um with uh technologically  superior fabrics or uh , you know , designed in interesting substances. Ease of use. Again , pretty low , I mean it's the top three , but each of the uh fancy and technologically innovative are far more important. So I think we should cloak the streamlined remote control device in a series of  fruit  fruit themed sleeves.


because it is much more organic , um some would say approachable.  And I think if we're to refashion our view of what we want in a remote control , we should perhaps think about incorporating technologically interesting fabrics and some of the bold colours into a simple handset. So.  I also did a little research on um  what again are the most important priorities in uh decision making about uh purchasing. Fancy. Functional is out. And f the fancy , and that's exactly the term , I'm I'm thinking polished , elegant ,  you know , kind of innovative , but a cut above. This is twice as important as the next finding , which is technologically innovative. This is interesting , 'cause I think in the last meeting we were talking about technology as being so important , but maybe what's innovative is having it simple with um with uh technologically  superior fabrics or uh , you know , designed in interesting substances. Ease of use. Again , pretty low , I mean it's the top three , but each of the uh fancy and technologically innovative are far more important. So I think we should cloak the streamlined remote control device in a series of  fruit  fruit themed sleeves.


because it is much more organic , um some would say approachable.  And I think if we're to refashion our view of what we want in a remote control , we should perhaps think about incorporating technologically interesting fabrics and some of the bold colours into a simple handset. So.  I also did a little research on um  what again are the most important priorities in uh decision making about uh purchasing. Fancy. Functional is out. And f the fancy , and that's exactly the term , I'm I'm thinking polished , elegant ,  you know , kind of innovative , but a cut above. This is twice as important as the next finding , which is technologically innovative. This is interesting , 'cause I think in the last meeting we were talking about technology as being so important , but maybe what's innovative is having it simple with um with uh technologically  superior fabrics or uh , you know , designed in interesting substances. Ease of use. Again , pretty low , I mean it's the top three , but each of the uh fancy and technologically innovative are far more important. So I think we should cloak the streamlined remote control device in a series of  fruit  fruit themed sleeves.

It sounds like the the uh covers that they use for the remote , you know , your t your cell phone.


It sounds like the the uh covers that they use for the remote , you know , your t your cell phone.


It sounds like the the uh covers that they use for the remote , you know , your t your cell phone.

Exactly.  Exactly. I was thinking though that instead of having something uh like patterned , you know , so , you know , something similar to a summer dress.  you know , it would have like fruit and veg , is that we actually make these spongy.


Exactly.  Exactly. I was thinking though that instead of having something uh like patterned , you know , so , you know , something similar to a summer dress.  you know , it would have like fruit and veg , is that we actually make these spongy.

They could be  ini initially I thought we could start with kind of um fruit that would suit kind of uh a long uh hand-held , so banana , pineapple and pear. Um it could actually  the sleeve could  take up a lot of the  development and the remote control , we'd just need to get reductionist on it.


Exactly.  Exactly. I was thinking though that instead of having something uh like patterned , you know , so , you know , something similar to a summer dress.  you know , it would have like fruit and veg , is that we actually make these spongy.

They could be  ini initially I thought we could start with kind of um fruit that would suit kind of uh a long uh hand-held , so banana , pineapple and pear. Um it could actually  the sleeve could  take up a lot of the  development and the remote control , we'd just need to get reductionist on it.

They could be interchangeable , they're spongy , that goes back to ergonomic , and the youngsters love 'em , fun for the whole family , everyone can have their own. So what we're talking about is changing. this concept. Everyone has a T_V_ remote , but then we add in the fact that they could each have their own individual fruit.


They could be  ini initially I thought we could start with kind of um fruit that would suit kind of uh a long uh hand-held , so banana , pineapple and pear. Um it could actually  the sleeve could  take up a lot of the  development and the remote control , we'd just need to get reductionist on it.

They could be interchangeable , they're spongy , that goes back to ergonomic , and the youngsters love 'em , fun for the whole family , everyone can have their own. So what we're talking about is changing. this concept. Everyone has a T_V_ remote , but then we add in the fact that they could each have their own individual fruit.

That's what's hot on the catwalks.  So , this is my  This is what I'm thinking.


They could be interchangeable , they're spongy , that goes back to ergonomic , and the youngsters love 'em , fun for the whole family , everyone can have their own. So what we're talking about is changing. this concept. Everyone has a T_V_ remote , but then we add in the fact that they could each have their own individual fruit.

That's what's hot on the catwalks.  So , this is my  This is what I'm thinking.

Uh-huh mm. In most families , don't  isn't the remote  is a remote.


That's what's hot on the catwalks.  So , this is my  This is what I'm thinking.

Uh-huh mm. In most families , don't  isn't the remote  is a remote.

Y yeah , but I think I think what this would allow is perhaps a person in the family who had the most opinion about it  we all need a remote ,


Uh-huh mm. In most families , don't  isn't the remote  is a remote.

Y yeah , but I think I think what this would allow is perhaps a person in the family who had the most opinion about it  we all need a remote ,


Uh-huh mm. In most families , don't  isn't the remote  is a remote.

Y yeah , but I think I think what this would allow is perhaps a person in the family who had the most opinion about it  we all need a remote ,

but the person who is really perhaps active in personalising , I'm thinking the teenager , the  someone fifteen to thirty five would go out and get this additional thing the same way as you mentioned that people would get the cell phone covers.


Y yeah , but I think I think what this would allow is perhaps a person in the family who had the most opinion about it  we all need a remote ,

but the person who is really perhaps active in personalising , I'm thinking the teenager , the  someone fifteen to thirty five would go out and get this additional thing the same way as you mentioned that people would get the cell phone covers.

So when your dad's sitting there , overriding your decision , going no we're gonna watch this , you can bring out your own remote and be like zap , no we're gonna watch this.


but the person who is really perhaps active in personalising , I'm thinking the teenager , the  someone fifteen to thirty five would go out and get this additional thing the same way as you mentioned that people would get the cell phone covers.

So when your dad's sitting there , overriding your decision , going no we're gonna watch this , you can bring out your own remote and be like zap , no we're gonna watch this.


but the person who is really perhaps active in personalising , I'm thinking the teenager , the  someone fifteen to thirty five would go out and get this additional thing the same way as you mentioned that people would get the cell phone covers.

So when your dad's sitting there , overriding your decision , going no we're gonna watch this , you can bring out your own remote and be like zap , no we're gonna watch this.

Mm. Well actually some households do have three and four T_V_s


So when your dad's sitting there , overriding your decision , going no we're gonna watch this , you can bring out your own remote and be like zap , no we're gonna watch this.

Mm. Well actually some households do have three and four T_V_s


Mm. Well actually some households do have three and four T_V_s

and they would have a remote for each one ,


and they would have a remote for each one ,


and they would have a remote for each one ,

Yeah. So this is an idea and I I  you know , this is exactly what the research has uh has shown. So I really open this up to uh any other feedback. This  spongy fruit and veg.


Yeah. So this is an idea and I I  you know , this is exactly what the research has uh has shown. So I really open this up to uh any other feedback. This  spongy fruit and veg.

Yeah , I I think we're gonna have some trouble when we get down to the component design on this.


Yeah , I I think we're gonna have some trouble when we get down to the component design on this.

Spongy is gonna be difficult , I'm afraid.


Spongy is gonna be difficult , I'm afraid.

Yep.  And as for as for um well budgeting as well , if we're gonna have lots of different interchangeable components.


Spongy is gonna be difficult , I'm afraid.

Yep.  And as for as for um well budgeting as well , if we're gonna have lots of different interchangeable components.

I I just have my ear to the market , guys.


Yep.  And as for as for um well budgeting as well , if we're gonna have lots of different interchangeable components.

I I just have my ear to the market , guys.


I I just have my ear to the market , guys.

Yeah , I mean basically we can make these things out of wood , titanium , plastic or rubber. I suppose rubber is the closest to spongy ,


Yeah , I mean basically we can make these things out of wood , titanium , plastic or rubber. I suppose rubber is the closest to spongy ,


I was thinking titanium , I was thinking it's just  I have been influenced by pictures of iPods , and they're also minimalist and shiny.


I was thinking titanium , I was thinking it's just  I have been influenced by pictures of iPods , and they're also minimalist and shiny.

Mm-hmm.  They are and they they would fulfil the uh first um priority , which is fancy. I think many of us would associate those with fancy. Something else we could do is uh call it something that's fruit and veg oriented. We could call it uh   The name.


I was thinking titanium , I was thinking it's just  I have been influenced by pictures of iPods , and they're also minimalist and shiny.

Mm-hmm.  They are and they they would fulfil the uh first um priority , which is fancy. I think many of us would associate those with fancy. Something else we could do is uh call it something that's fruit and veg oriented. We could call it uh   The name.

Are we talking about the device itself or the c or a cover for the device that would be an interchangeable cov cover as a separate product ?


I was thinking titanium , I was thinking it's just  I have been influenced by pictures of iPods , and they're also minimalist and shiny.

Mm-hmm.  They are and they they would fulfil the uh first um priority , which is fancy. I think many of us would associate those with fancy. Something else we could do is uh call it something that's fruit and veg oriented. We could call it uh   The name.

Are we talking about the device itself or the c or a cover for the device that would be an interchangeable cov cover as a separate product ?

Well it would be uh a a very simple product that would have a spongy sleeve that would be interchangeable. So


Mm-hmm.  They are and they they would fulfil the uh first um priority , which is fancy. I think many of us would associate those with fancy. Something else we could do is uh call it something that's fruit and veg oriented. We could call it uh   The name.

Are we talking about the device itself or the c or a cover for the device that would be an interchangeable cov cover as a separate product ?

Well it would be uh a a very simple product that would have a spongy sleeve that would be interchangeable. So

Perhaps perhaps that desi that particular suggestion needs to go back to management


Are we talking about the device itself or the c or a cover for the device that would be an interchangeable cov cover as a separate product ?

Well it would be uh a a very simple product that would have a spongy sleeve that would be interchangeable. So

Perhaps perhaps that desi that particular suggestion needs to go back to management

Yeah , but it's kind of pointless , isn't it ?


Well it would be uh a a very simple product that would have a spongy sleeve that would be interchangeable. So

Perhaps perhaps that desi that particular suggestion needs to go back to management

Yeah , but it's kind of pointless , isn't it ?

and perhaps go to another group to actually design as a separate product.


Perhaps perhaps that desi that particular suggestion needs to go back to management

Yeah , but it's kind of pointless , isn't it ?

and perhaps go to another group to actually design as a separate product.


Yeah , but it's kind of pointless , isn't it ?

and perhaps go to another group to actually design as a separate product.


and perhaps go to another group to actually design as a separate product.


Yeah.  W w would it be helpful if um I described the components a bit , because I think it would give you um  maybe bring this discussion back to Earth of what we can actually physically do.


Yeah.  W w would it be helpful if um I described the components a bit , because I think it would give you um  maybe bring this discussion back to Earth of what we can actually physically do.

Do you wanna be next or you want Kate to go next ?


Yeah.  W w would it be helpful if um I described the components a bit , because I think it would give you um  maybe bring this discussion back to Earth of what we can actually physically do.

Do you wanna be next or you want Kate to go next ?

I think possibly it might be more useful if Kate went next.


Do you wanna be next or you want Kate to go next ?

I think possibly it might be more useful if Kate went next.


I think possibly it might be more useful if Kate went next.

You can even have them in different flavours as well.  So that if you just wanna sit there and chew on the remote , it could be like pear flavour ,


You can even have them in different flavours as well.  So that if you just wanna sit there and chew on the remote , it could be like pear flavour ,


You can even have them in different flavours as well.  So that if you just wanna sit there and chew on the remote , it could be like pear flavour ,

Uh well I was really thinking a lot about the I_ uh the iMac kind of gel gem tone.


Uh well I was really thinking a lot about the I_ uh the iMac kind of gel gem tone.


you're gonna be a little disappointed with some of the things I have to tell you , but I'm afraid this is the real world.  So um I've been looking at the the basics of how these devices actually have to work in order to operate , and I've had some discussions with the ma manufacturing division , who have told me what's actually available , you know , what the current state of the art in components is , and some of the exciting new things they've got , but I'm not sure that it's quite what you want um. Now this isn't a very good overhead , but this is just to show you , this is the innards of a remote control um. I really need a pen or something but uh  does my mouse work ? No. Um  oh yeah , can you see my little mouse pointer ?


you're gonna be a little disappointed with some of the things I have to tell you , but I'm afraid this is the real world.  So um I've been looking at the the basics of how these devices actually have to work in order to operate , and I've had some discussions with the ma manufacturing division , who have told me what's actually available , you know , what the current state of the art in components is , and some of the exciting new things they've got , but I'm not sure that it's quite what you want um. Now this isn't a very good overhead , but this is just to show you , this is the innards of a remote control um. I really need a pen or something but uh  does my mouse work ? No. Um  oh yeah , can you see my little mouse pointer ?

Right. This is this is the a a  a remote that's been opened up


Right. This is this is the a a  a remote that's been opened up

and that's the the back of the interface. And this is a push-button one , so you see these little little buttons here , they're little rubber rubber buttons that go through onto the the board at the back and they push these buttons here. Um  and we  that's the basic construction that we've got to got to accommodate. We got to have something that pushes the little buttons that um talk to the chip that encodes the message that sends the the message to the receiver. So um I wan I wanna go through not not just addressing the um  uh the the points that you made , Sarah , but um  doing my presentation in the order I wrote it.  So first of all um I wanna talk about what possibilities we've got for the energy source.


Right. This is this is the a a  a remote that's been opened up

and that's the the back of the interface. And this is a push-button one , so you see these little little buttons here , they're little rubber rubber buttons that go through onto the the board at the back and they push these buttons here. Um  and we  that's the basic construction that we've got to got to accommodate. We got to have something that pushes the little buttons that um talk to the chip that encodes the message that sends the the message to the receiver. So um I wan I wanna go through not not just addressing the um  uh the the points that you made , Sarah , but um  doing my presentation in the order I wrote it.  So first of all um I wanna talk about what possibilities we've got for the energy source.

Um we can have your bog standard double double A_ batteries in a replaceable um little compartment. We can have a hand   sorry


and that's the the back of the interface. And this is a push-button one , so you see these little little buttons here , they're little rubber rubber buttons that go through onto the the board at the back and they push these buttons here. Um  and we  that's the basic construction that we've got to got to accommodate. We got to have something that pushes the little buttons that um talk to the chip that encodes the message that sends the the message to the receiver. So um I wan I wanna go through not not just addressing the um  uh the the points that you made , Sarah , but um  doing my presentation in the order I wrote it.  So first of all um I wanna talk about what possibilities we've got for the energy source.

Um we can have your bog standard double double A_ batteries in a replaceable um little compartment. We can have a hand   sorry


and that's the the back of the interface. And this is a push-button one , so you see these little little buttons here , they're little rubber rubber buttons that go through onto the the board at the back and they push these buttons here. Um  and we  that's the basic construction that we've got to got to accommodate. We got to have something that pushes the little buttons that um talk to the chip that encodes the message that sends the the message to the receiver. So um I wan I wanna go through not not just addressing the um  uh the the points that you made , Sarah , but um  doing my presentation in the order I wrote it.  So first of all um I wanna talk about what possibilities we've got for the energy source.

Um we can have your bog standard double double A_ batteries in a replaceable um little compartment. We can have a hand   sorry

a wind-up , yeah ,  which I think is quite an interesting concept for a   sorry  for a remote control ,


Um we can have your bog standard double double A_ batteries in a replaceable um little compartment. We can have a hand   sorry

a wind-up , yeah ,  which I think is quite an interesting concept for a   sorry  for a remote control ,

but i it maybe is  doesn't quite go with the um the fruit and veg.


a wind-up , yeah ,  which I think is quite an interesting concept for a   sorry  for a remote control ,

but i it maybe is  doesn't quite go with the um the fruit and veg.


a wind-up , yeah ,  which I think is quite an interesting concept for a   sorry  for a remote control ,

but i it maybe is  doesn't quite go with the um the fruit and veg.

Um one that one that I think is quite interesting is the kinetic energy source ,


but i it maybe is  doesn't quite go with the um the fruit and veg.

Um one that one that I think is quite interesting is the kinetic energy source ,


Um one that one that I think is quite interesting is the kinetic energy source ,

where um  you you actually get the energy by moving the device ,


where um  you you actually get the energy by moving the device ,


where um  you you actually get the energy by moving the device ,

which is quite a ni a nice and neat one. You have to  it means that if it's sitting there for a long time it probably won't work , but you have to sort of throw it between your hands every now and then , it'll work.


which is quite a ni a nice and neat one. You have to  it means that if it's sitting there for a long time it probably won't work , but you have to sort of throw it between your hands every now and then , it'll work.


which is quite a ni a nice and neat one. You have to  it means that if it's sitting there for a long time it probably won't work , but you have to sort of throw it between your hands every now and then , it'll work.

but I thing that we agreed that that's not so good in the dark.


but I thing that we agreed that that's not so good in the dark.


but I thing that we agreed that that's not so good in the dark.

Now I'm afraid this is the options we've got on on the case. It can be made of plastic , rubber , wood o if you like ,  or titanium.


Now I'm afraid this is the options we've got on on the case. It can be made of plastic , rubber , wood o if you like ,  or titanium.

Um and the nearest we've got to st to spongy there I guess is rubber , but um  I'm gonna come back to the advantages of titanium ,


Um and the nearest we've got to st to spongy there I guess is rubber , but um  I'm gonna come back to the advantages of titanium ,

and basically it can have a flat surface , a curved surface or a double curved surface , but I think if we wanna use standard components , we're gonna have difficulty with anything much beyond that.


and basically it can have a flat surface , a curved surface or a double curved surface , but I think if we wanna use standard components , we're gonna have difficulty with anything much beyond that.

Okay , what does the interface look like ? Um well push button , that's that's the one we're all familiar with.  Um we can have scroll buttons and the the scroll button can incorporate a push ,


Okay , what does the interface look like ? Um well push button , that's that's the one we're all familiar with.  Um we can have scroll buttons and the the scroll button can incorporate a push ,

so you can have it like on a mouse where you can use it to go up and down , change volume or channel or something like that and push to select something.  Um you can have multiple scroll buttons , um this is maybe getting a little bit complicated , but um it's it  the technology is there. And we can also incorporate an L_C_D_ display in the remote , but this will increase the cost.   Um the electronics that actually makes the device work , we've basically got three , simple , regular , advanced , and the price goes up as we choose each of this. If we want the nice cheap one , the simple , then we can only have push buttons. All the other fancy interface designs go out the window , I'm afraid. Um pay a little bit more for a regular chip and you can have scroll buttons. If you want the advanced chip it obviously costs more , but it  that's what you need if you want the L_C_D_ display. And the manufacturing devision tell me that they have recently developed um sample sensor sample speaker devices. Now I don't know what that is , but I think they think it's quite important and we might want to incorporate it somewhere. Um ou our real expertise is in push buttons , I have to say , but maybe you think that's old technology.


so you can have it like on a mouse where you can use it to go up and down , change volume or channel or something like that and push to select something.  Um you can have multiple scroll buttons , um this is maybe getting a little bit complicated , but um it's it  the technology is there. And we can also incorporate an L_C_D_ display in the remote , but this will increase the cost.   Um the electronics that actually makes the device work , we've basically got three , simple , regular , advanced , and the price goes up as we choose each of this. If we want the nice cheap one , the simple , then we can only have push buttons. All the other fancy interface designs go out the window , I'm afraid. Um pay a little bit more for a regular chip and you can have scroll buttons. If you want the advanced chip it obviously costs more , but it  that's what you need if you want the L_C_D_ display. And the manufacturing devision tell me that they have recently developed um sample sensor sample speaker devices. Now I don't know what that is , but I think they think it's quite important and we might want to incorporate it somewhere. Um ou our real expertise is in push buttons , I have to say , but maybe you think that's old technology.

And  well I I think we've got two options. We can either go for a really cheap model , keep all of the costs down , um which  means a flat plastic case with an ordinary battery and simple push buttons. Or we can have something that looks a bit nicer , I think it , um won't necessarily l uh look like a pineapple , but um that  may or may not be a good thing.


so you can have it like on a mouse where you can use it to go up and down , change volume or channel or something like that and push to select something.  Um you can have multiple scroll buttons , um this is maybe getting a little bit complicated , but um it's it  the technology is there. And we can also incorporate an L_C_D_ display in the remote , but this will increase the cost.   Um the electronics that actually makes the device work , we've basically got three , simple , regular , advanced , and the price goes up as we choose each of this. If we want the nice cheap one , the simple , then we can only have push buttons. All the other fancy interface designs go out the window , I'm afraid. Um pay a little bit more for a regular chip and you can have scroll buttons. If you want the advanced chip it obviously costs more , but it  that's what you need if you want the L_C_D_ display. And the manufacturing devision tell me that they have recently developed um sample sensor sample speaker devices. Now I don't know what that is , but I think they think it's quite important and we might want to incorporate it somewhere. Um ou our real expertise is in push buttons , I have to say , but maybe you think that's old technology.

And  well I I think we've got two options. We can either go for a really cheap model , keep all of the costs down , um which  means a flat plastic case with an ordinary battery and simple push buttons. Or we can have something that looks a bit nicer , I think it , um won't necessarily l uh look like a pineapple , but um that  may or may not be a good thing.

Sorry.  Um  but it could have an L_C_D_ screen and it could have multiple scroll buttons , and it could have the the company's new development of the um sample sensor and speaker.  So , thank you.


And  well I I think we've got two options. We can either go for a really cheap model , keep all of the costs down , um which  means a flat plastic case with an ordinary battery and simple push buttons. Or we can have something that looks a bit nicer , I think it , um won't necessarily l uh look like a pineapple , but um that  may or may not be a good thing.

Sorry.  Um  but it could have an L_C_D_ screen and it could have multiple scroll buttons , and it could have the the company's new development of the um sample sensor and speaker.  So , thank you.

That sounds good. Any idea   you you mentioned that there would be a cost difference.


Sorry.  Um  but it could have an L_C_D_ screen and it could have multiple scroll buttons , and it could have the the company's new development of the um sample sensor and speaker.  So , thank you.

That sounds good. Any idea   you you mentioned that there would be a cost difference.

Um do you have any idea if if this could  if the fancy model could be done in twelve Euros fifty ?


That sounds good. Any idea   you you mentioned that there would be a cost difference.

Um do you have any idea if if this could  if the fancy model could be done in twelve Euros fifty ?

I'm afraid I don't have that information available. Um manufacturing didn't actually give  attach any prices to any of this , I'm afraid.


Um do you have any idea if if this could  if the fancy model could be done in twelve Euros fifty ?

I'm afraid I don't have that information available. Um manufacturing didn't actually give  attach any prices to any of this , I'm afraid.


Um do you have any idea if if this could  if the fancy model could be done in twelve Euros fifty ?

I'm afraid I don't have that information available. Um manufacturing didn't actually give  attach any prices to any of this , I'm afraid.

Hmm. Because , you know what , I'm being quite serious when I say that that um the things I mentioned are hot. But I think the important thing might be to choose one.


I'm afraid I don't have that information available. Um manufacturing didn't actually give  attach any prices to any of this , I'm afraid.

Hmm. Because , you know what , I'm being quite serious when I say that that um the things I mentioned are hot. But I think the important thing might be to choose one.


Hmm. Because , you know what , I'm being quite serious when I say that that um the things I mentioned are hot. But I think the important thing might be to choose one.

You know , if if what you're telling me is is um some of these things aren't just f aren't feasible , maybe we could something about naming , we could call it , you know , Blackberry.


Hmm. Because , you know what , I'm being quite serious when I say that that um the things I mentioned are hot. But I think the important thing might be to choose one.

You know , if if what you're telling me is is um some of these things aren't just f aren't feasible , maybe we could something about naming , we could call it , you know , Blackberry.

Bear bear in mind it has to be the colours and styles of the company ,


You know , if if what you're telling me is is um some of these things aren't just f aren't feasible , maybe we could something about naming , we could call it , you know , Blackberry.

Bear bear in mind it has to be the colours and styles of the company ,


You know , if if what you're telling me is is um some of these things aren't just f aren't feasible , maybe we could something about naming , we could call it , you know , Blackberry.

Bear bear in mind it has to be the colours and styles of the company ,

so what I had been thinking was something chunky and yellow and plastic with black buttons with a logo on it.


Bear bear in mind it has to be the colours and styles of the company ,

so what I had been thinking was something chunky and yellow and plastic with black buttons with a logo on it.


so what I had been thinking was something chunky and yellow and plastic with black buttons with a logo on it.


so what I had been thinking was something chunky and yellow and plastic with black buttons with a logo on it.

But um I I don't know how important that is to keep it exactly the colours of the Real Reaction company.


But um I I don't know how important that is to keep it exactly the colours of the Real Reaction company.


But um I I don't know how important that is to keep it exactly the colours of the Real Reaction company.

It's just what I'd understood we'd be doing. That's before I heard about all this hot tips about the future , fruit-wise.


It's just what I'd understood we'd be doing. That's before I heard about all this hot tips about the future , fruit-wise.

We we could we could do um a double curved rubber one ,


It's just what I'd understood we'd be doing. That's before I heard about all this hot tips about the future , fruit-wise.

We we could we could do um a double curved rubber one ,

I'm trying to streamline mine a little bit.


We we could we could do um a double curved rubber one ,

I'm trying to streamline mine a little bit.

which would allow um say a banana , but um unfortunately I see from my notes that if we do that , we have to have a push button as the interface ,


I'm trying to streamline mine a little bit.

which would allow um say a banana , but um unfortunately I see from my notes that if we do that , we have to have a push button as the interface ,


which would allow um say a banana , but um unfortunately I see from my notes that if we do that , we have to have a push button as the interface ,

Shall we wait 'til I've 'til I've showed you what  well ,  my extensive presentation  on what sort of interfaces are available.


Shall we wait 'til I've 'til I've showed you what  well ,  my extensive presentation  on what sort of interfaces are available.


You did seem to include just in more detail what I've got though. So  so mine's a bit pointless. Right.


I If you do F_ uh F_N_ F_ eight again , it's  it'll


I If you do F_ uh F_N_ F_ eight again , it's  it'll

Keep doing it until you get it in both  you get it there , you get it yours without that one ,


Keep doing it until you get it in both  you get it there , you get it yours without that one ,


Right then. I don't actually have a huge amount of different information then what Kate says ,


Right then. I don't actually have a huge amount of different information then what Kate says ,

just that my method was to look at the , well , my my inspirations , which was a big collection of lots of different models of remote controls and other things that use a similar sort of thing , including M_P_ three players , uh like you know , hi-fi remotes , not just television and these things.


just that my method was to look at the , well , my my inspirations , which was a big collection of lots of different models of remote controls and other things that use a similar sort of thing , including M_P_ three players , uh like you know , hi-fi remotes , not just television and these things.

Uh having a think about the feature of ea the features of each ones , um what functions we actually need , and then how to group and arrange these on the actual the actual plastic or rubber hand-held piece.  Uh I've been especially interested in the iPod style scroll wheel , which  Well , I couldn't find a  the picture of the iPod w only linked to a web browser , so I couldn't copy and paste it , but it had a similar thing to this thing on the right. It has uh scroll wheels without without a display , but they they scroll like a computer mouse.


Uh having a think about the feature of ea the features of each ones , um what functions we actually need , and then how to group and arrange these on the actual the actual plastic or rubber hand-held piece.  Uh I've been especially interested in the iPod style scroll wheel , which  Well , I couldn't find a  the picture of the iPod w only linked to a web browser , so I couldn't copy and paste it , but it had a similar thing to this thing on the right. It has uh scroll wheels without without a display , but they they scroll like a computer mouse.


Uh having a think about the feature of ea the features of each ones , um what functions we actually need , and then how to group and arrange these on the actual the actual plastic or rubber hand-held piece.  Uh I've been especially interested in the iPod style scroll wheel , which  Well , I couldn't find a  the picture of the iPod w only linked to a web browser , so I couldn't copy and paste it , but it had a similar thing to this thing on the right. It has uh scroll wheels without without a display , but they they scroll like a computer mouse.

So I was thinking that uh  um a really simple a really simple interface with just a couple of scroll things on it um and then instead of a display the display could appear on the television screen. Like I guess an existing Sky or cable one does. Like , you know , you press enter and it comes up with what's showing on that channel at the moment , and you can do  you can scroll along and it'll show you what's on in the next half hour , and you scroll up


So I was thinking that uh  um a really simple a really simple interface with just a couple of scroll things on it um and then instead of a display the display could appear on the television screen. Like I guess an existing Sky or cable one does. Like , you know , you press enter and it comes up with what's showing on that channel at the moment , and you can do  you can scroll along and it'll show you what's on in the next half hour , and you scroll up

and you can see what's on the other channels while you're watching the same channel on the screen. Uh but I'm also equally taken with this chunky plastic kiddie remote ,


So I was thinking that uh  um a really simple a really simple interface with just a couple of scroll things on it um and then instead of a display the display could appear on the television screen. Like I guess an existing Sky or cable one does. Like , you know , you press enter and it comes up with what's showing on that channel at the moment , and you can do  you can scroll along and it'll show you what's on in the next half hour , and you scroll up

and you can see what's on the other channels while you're watching the same channel on the screen. Uh but I'm also equally taken with this chunky plastic kiddie remote ,

um which is really nice and fun and good to hold and nice , big , easy buttons to press , but still quite simple and quite cost effective. So


and you can see what's on the other channels while you're watching the same channel on the screen. Uh but I'm also equally taken with this chunky plastic kiddie remote ,

um which is really nice and fun and good to hold and nice , big , easy buttons to press , but still quite simple and quite cost effective. So

what seems kind of ideal for me would be to just have a fairly simple , uh not fancy but not totally minimalist , I mean just pretty simple plastic , probably , I was thinking , yellow and black , just because that's the company's colours , with very very few buttons , but that would correspond to a screen that would appear on the television screen , like , you know ,  just small along the bottom instead of instead of having the iPod style display screen on the actual remotes , which is far too expensive.


um which is really nice and fun and good to hold and nice , big , easy buttons to press , but still quite simple and quite cost effective. So

what seems kind of ideal for me would be to just have a fairly simple , uh not fancy but not totally minimalist , I mean just pretty simple plastic , probably , I was thinking , yellow and black , just because that's the company's colours , with very very few buttons , but that would correspond to a screen that would appear on the television screen , like , you know ,  just small along the bottom instead of instead of having the iPod style display screen on the actual remotes , which is far too expensive.


what seems kind of ideal for me would be to just have a fairly simple , uh not fancy but not totally minimalist , I mean just pretty simple plastic , probably , I was thinking , yellow and black , just because that's the company's colours , with very very few buttons , but that would correspond to a screen that would appear on the television screen , like , you know ,  just small along the bottom instead of instead of having the iPod style display screen on the actual remotes , which is far too expensive.

And when you've got a screen sitting there in front of you , you might as well have it appearing uh on the screen in front of you , it doesn't obscure much of the actual picture you're watching.


And when you've got a screen sitting there in front of you , you might as well have it appearing uh on the screen in front of you , it doesn't obscure much of the actual picture you're watching.


And when you've got a screen sitting there in front of you , you might as well have it appearing uh on the screen in front of you , it doesn't obscure much of the actual picture you're watching.

And so on that you can , just much in the same way as an existing Sky remote , scroll along , scroll up and down.


And when you've got a screen sitting there in front of you , you might as well have it appearing uh on the screen in front of you , it doesn't obscure much of the actual picture you're watching.

And so on that you can , just much in the same way as an existing Sky remote , scroll along , scroll up and down.

Yeah , I'd I'd certainly support that idea.


And so on that you can , just much in the same way as an existing Sky remote , scroll along , scroll up and down.

Yeah , I'd I'd certainly support that idea.

And uh and I definitely support uh the use of plastic and or rubber. I mean titanium would be great , but I think it might be a bit too expensive and too kinda spacey. If we're k trying to keep it colourful and slightly organic , then I think titanium's too futuristic.


And so on that you can , just much in the same way as an existing Sky remote , scroll along , scroll up and down.

Yeah , I'd I'd certainly support that idea.

And uh and I definitely support uh the use of plastic and or rubber. I mean titanium would be great , but I think it might be a bit too expensive and too kinda spacey. If we're k trying to keep it colourful and slightly organic , then I think titanium's too futuristic.

It's difficult to make fancy shapes in it as well , we can't for example have a double curved case in titanium unfortunately.


Yeah , I'd I'd certainly support that idea.

And uh and I definitely support uh the use of plastic and or rubber. I mean titanium would be great , but I think it might be a bit too expensive and too kinda spacey. If we're k trying to keep it colourful and slightly organic , then I think titanium's too futuristic.

It's difficult to make fancy shapes in it as well , we can't for example have a double curved case in titanium unfortunately.

Yeah. Whereas a plastic's so cheap and easy and mouldable and everything else.


And uh and I definitely support uh the use of plastic and or rubber. I mean titanium would be great , but I think it might be a bit too expensive and too kinda spacey. If we're k trying to keep it colourful and slightly organic , then I think titanium's too futuristic.

It's difficult to make fancy shapes in it as well , we can't for example have a double curved case in titanium unfortunately.

Yeah. Whereas a plastic's so cheap and easy and mouldable and everything else.