Mr. Speaker, as you know, I am the sponsor of a very important private member's bill that deserves the attention of all my colleagues.
I am sponsoring a bill that responds to an oft-repeated request by a vast majority of Canadians. Rarely do issues achieve such consensus among our constituents. I am talking about mandatory labelling of genetically modified foods.
In recent public opinion surveys, 80% of Canadians said they wanted to know if their food contained GMOs. There is no reason to refuse them this information. That is why I have a bill to do just that, and it is up for a vote tomorrow evening.
If the House truly represents Canadians, it should easily pass second reading. If my bill is defeated, then it will be clear that a majority of MPs put corporate interests before 80% of concerned citizens. This would be a failure of our democracy.
I ask all members of the House to put the interests of their constituents ahead of those of Monsanto. Canadians have a right to know.
Canadians have the right to know. I would like my colleagues to support my bill.