Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
I want to thank this committee for granting this additional round so that we have enough time to get this question in. Oftentimes, because we're last, we have a tough time getting a last question in, and it really means a lot to see this kind of unity. Thank you, Mr. Chair, for that suggestion.
My question is with regard to the very first item I mentioned about consultation with indigenous peoples. What I noticed in the recommendation by the deputy Auditor General in the report is that, even from the Auditor General's office, there is some ways a lack in the recommendation. The recommendation states that “Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada should work with its federal, provincial, and territorial partners, as well as its stakeholders”.
I do believe it's important to have explicit consultation with indigenous peoples, who are often forgotten in these critical discussions, particularly with regard to food. Food is one of the most critical aspects of ensuring that indigenous people's culture and well-being survive.
I want to hear from the deputy minister whether they would commit to meeting with indigenous peoples, not so much from Crown-Indigenous Relations deputy minister, because I'm very familiar with how that consultation goes—or does not go—but from the deputy minister of agriculture about their plans to ensure that they consult indigenous people in this national action plan.
