Mr. Speaker, I am presenting a petition signed by hundreds of people who are concerned about the threat against the ancestral rights of small family farmers all around the world to preserve, use and exchange their seeds, as a result of some aspects of the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants.
The petitioners are calling on the Government of Canada to adopt international assistance policies that support small family farmers, and particularly women, to recognize their vital role in the fight against hunger and poverty. They also want the government to ensure that polices and programs are developed in consultation with small family farmers and that these policies protect the rights of small family farmers in the global south to preserve, use and freely exchange seeds.