Mr. Speaker, I rise to present e-petition 6620, which was signed by over 1,000 Canadians, who are calling for urgent federal leadership of brain injury awareness, prevention and treatment.

The petitioners note that brain injuries can occur in many ways, from accidents to illnesses and strokes, and they often result in serious physical, cognitive, emotional and behavioural effects. They further point out that brain injuries are frequently linked with other challenges, including substance use and homelessness, creating additional barriers for those affected. It is estimated that 1.6 million Canadians are living with a brain injury today, yet there is no coordinated national response.

The petitioners therefore call upon the Government of Canada to develop a national strategy on brain injuries to improve awareness and prevention, as well as to ensure better access to treatment, rehabilitation and recovery supports for Canadians living with the impacts of brain injury.

Mr. Speaker, petitioners have asked me to speak on their behalf as constituents of Saanich—Gulf Islands concerned about a new and emerging industry, believe it or not, of cephalopod farming. That is, in fact, octopus and squid farming. The animals are bred in captivity, slaughtered for human consumption.

Canada currently has no legislation to regulate or govern this emerging potential industry, and certainly, in the wild, cephalopods are solitary, wild animals that are ill-suited to be raised in captivity and recognized as sentient beings. Therefore, the petitioners ask that the Government of Canada act in response to this threat, ban the importation of farmed cephalopod products and prohibit the breeding and raising of cephalopods in captivity in Canada.

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions that I would like to table in the House today.

The first pertains to people who are concerned about the working and living conditions of airport workers, who earn very low wages in very precarious conditions despite their years of service.

The Vancouver Airport Authority has declared that it offers a living wage and encourages all service providers to provide a living wage to their employees. The Greater Toronto Airport Authority has issued a document that states in its employment standards section that all airport employers are encouraged to provide wages that allow workers the ability to afford shelter, food and basic necessities.

Hundreds of people are writing to the Government of Canada calling for an increase in the living wage for airport workers.

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is signed by thousands of people who are concerned about the importation of macaques from Cambodia.

In 2022, the International Union for Conservation of Nature raised the classification of long-tailed macaques from “vulnerable” to “endangered”, pointing to their exploitation by the experimentation industry as a factor in the species' plummeting numbers and heightened risk of extinction.

In 2023, the U.S. stopped importing monkeys from Cambodia because authorities amassed evidence that permits were falsified. Meanwhile, imports of long-tailed macaques from Cambodia to Canada increased by 350% in just one year.

These thousands of people are calling on Environment Canada and the Minister of Environment and Climate Change to order an immediate suspension of all endangered monkey imports from Cambodia.