Mr. Speaker, this is a petition that I am so honoured to present. I am always honoured to present petitions from my constituents, but this is e-petition 6955, with an extraordinarily high number of supporters. In fact, just under 24,000 people signed this. The first signatories on the petition are all scientists from around the world.
In short, the petition notes that currently, under Canadian law, animals are treated as property and not considered sentient beings, but under increasing efforts internationally from scientists around the world, there is a very strong consensus that animals are sentient beings, not mere property. The petitioners, as I said, just under 24,000 of them, are calling on the government to pass legislation to recognize animals as sentient beings and not mere property.
I present this petition and hope that the government will attend to this matter and respond appropriately.