Mr. Speaker, during the last constituency week, I had the pleasure of meeting with a delegation from Development and Peace, which is very active in my community. It discussed with me the issue of respect for the rights of small family farms to store, trade and use seed.
This organization has collected hundreds and hundreds of signatures in the riding from people who are calling on the government to adopt international aid policies that support small farmers, especially women, and recognize their vital role in the struggle against hunger and poverty, to ensure that Canadian policies and programs are developed in consultation with small farmers, and to ensure that they protect the rights of small farmers in the global south to save, use and freely trade their seed.