Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Senator Black and Mr. Nater, thanks for being here.
I can remember being at this committee four years ago in June of 2018 when Mr. Stetski was before our committee. He was an NDP colleague of mine, and it's nice to see, Senator Black, that you're carrying it forward, and I think we have a real shot of getting this into law. Congratulations to you both.
It's not like we have to take a really deep dive into this bill; it's pretty straightforward.
I do want to ask one thing. Everyone who has spoken so far has talked about the agricultural bounty of their ridings. Cowichan—Malahat—Langford in the Hul'q'umi'num tongue means “warm land”, and I believe we are the only Mediterranean-style climate in all of Canada, so we are definitely right up there.
I am on the coast, and we associate a lot of our food bounty with the ocean. I know I have everyone around this table beat with the best salmon fishing. You cannot beat the west coast salmon fishing off Port Renfrew in my riding, and it's incredibly important to local first nations. The Cowichan tribes are the largest first nation in all of British Columbia. I have a very high indigenous population in my riding, and a lot of their culturally and historically important food sources are all associated with the bounty that the ocean provides.
Mr. Nater, you referenced culturally important food. Would both of you have some comments? I know we tend to focus a lot on agriculture, but we also have to realize that this country's natural bounty is also there for enjoyment by all.