Senator Simons: I think there is consideration, because I think it is important that we live in the provinces that we represent.

And I spoke to one constitutional law professor, Eric Adams, who is Vice Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Alberta. I asked him if I should be concerned that eliminating the property requirement might make it easier for people not to live where they say that they do.

His question to me was, “Does the property requirement actually make them live where they say that they do?” And I had to say that, no, it didn’t, and he told me that if it is not actually a safeguard now, getting rid of it won’t functionally make any difference.

As far as the other constitutional questions, you know, I have been pretending to know something about the law these last couple of speeches. But this place is filled with actual constitutional law experts who could answer that question better than I.

[Translation]

Hon. Paula Simons, Deputy Chair of the Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry, presented the following report:

Thursday, April 7, 2022

The Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry has the honour to present its

SECOND REPORT

Your committee, to which was referred Bill S-227, An Act to establish Food Day in Canada, has, in obedience to the order of reference of March 3, 2022, examined the said bill and now reports the same without amendment, but with certain observations, which are appended to this report.

Respectfully submitted,

PAULA SIMONS

Deputy Chair

(For text of observations, see today’s Journals of the Senate, p. 456.)

Hon. Marty Deacon: Senator Simons, thank you for that entertaining aspect of the history. I think it’s really important to know around this bill.

My question for you relates to the thorough historical perspective you did right up to the work of Senator Banks.

As you have been doing this work, beyond the issues that you describe around Quebec and the will to make a change, are there any other barriers or things that you learned along the way that could stop us from moving forward on this given the issue that you just described at the end of your speech? Is there anything else in the way?