The statistics are there for all to see. In a country as wealthy as Canada, the level of food insecurity among indigenous populations is quite shocking.
We've had one meeting on this subject so far. We had testimony from Mr. Jamie Hall from the Ontario Indian Agricultural Program. He said that domestically, both the federal and provincial governments do not really provide a lot of direct support for indigenous farmers in Canada.
I look at the development of the food policy. I can remember doing consultations in my own riding back in 2017—it's now 2019—and I realize it's going to be a very complex policy with such a diverse country and a lot of areas to address.
Specifically with reference to indigenous farming, the grave statistics that we currently have and the fact that we already have testimony saying there are not a lot of domestic supports, how do you anticipate that policy is going to inform the department going forward? How can we see the agricultural programs that you're responsible for respond to that in a timely way that addresses this problem with concrete steps?