You've been a big part of getting it this far. Public opinion on this is such that once people know about this cruel practice, they don't want to see Canada take part in this. A big part of the grassroots movement in that was to have voices heard. Your sponsoring e-petition 4190 brought it to the forefront, and there have been advocates who are saying that.
The fact that you and I sit on the agriculture committee also, I think, shows that this is not any kind of attack on livestock farming or on the agriculture sector as a whole. This is a specific bill, and that's why I did it as a stand-alone bill, not to in any way encroach on other legislation. This is a very specific bill for a specific process.
As far as why I took this on, as you and I know, and I would say for those listening, we end up with getting a lottery number for a private member's bill. In the previous parliament, I had one that wasn't worth looking into. This one I did, and it took a little while, and this was something that I wanted to do, and I heard from people.
I have been in touch with the department. They didn't just hand over a file to me and say, “Here's where we're at.” I know that they were working toward that. I just want an opportunity to get this done faster, and there's no difference between a private member's bill or a government-sponsored bill. The legality of it is the same, and I would still love any input from anybody.