I just want to use the rest of my time, Mr. Chair, to table a motion, because I know we're getting to the end of studies.
I'd like to table a motion for a study to start, hopefully, in the new year. It's to do with Canadian farmland and reimagining the future of agriculture. We know that Canadian farmland is a vital natural resource for food security, for rural economies and for combatting climate change. The agricultural sector right now—and we've heard this many times—is facing growing challenges: urban sprawl, soil degradation, climate change, etc.
I'll circulate this. I'm not going to go through the entire motion right now. It would be a study that basically looks at the future of agriculture, which would present an opportunity to foster innovation, to enhance ecological stewardship and to promote sustainable food systems, while making sure that we have a secure and prosperous future for all Canadian farmers and for consumers.
A number of the things I would like to look at in the study, which I've detailed in this motion, evaluate the current threats to farmland, look at sustainable agricultural practices that are already in use and that could be expanded, look at ways to make sure farmers are compensated for the contribution they're making to the environment, assess the role of farmland in the protection of our domestic food security and look at advancing our environmental and economic goals. Those would be things like carbon sequestration and emissions reduction.
Lastly, the study would look at organics, plastics and plant-based agriculture as an opportunity for farmers, with a $25-billion market opportunity. It would also look at how that could work with the transition that some farmers are having to make right now because of climate change to more plant-based organic farming.
The idea is to engage a number of stakeholders from across the community—obviously farmers, agriculture organizations, experts and indigenous communities—to talk about this.
I will circulate this motion, but I think this study would be very beneficial for all farmers across Canada.