Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise in the House today to present two petitions.
The first is e-petition 1774. This petition relates to a very specific situation in a specific locality. It is the ongoing issue of prison farms in Canada. A number of them were closed down by the previous government and efforts to reopen are the subject of these petitioners' concerns.
The prison program is being used to advance, in their petition, commercial interests. Milk from the prison program will be sent to a multinational, processed and shipped to China. The petitioners are asking for the government to overturn the decision to establish this prison dairy operation, establish prison farms that support local food and prevent the use of animals in rehabilitation programs.