moved for leave to introduce Bill C-283, An Act to establish National Food Waste Awareness Day and to provide for the development of a national strategy to reduce food waste in Canada.
Mr. Speaker, I am incredibly proud to be here today tabling my bill, an act to establish a food waste awareness day and to provide for the development of a national strategy to reduce food waste in Canada.
I want to thank the member for Cowichan—Malahat—Langford for seconding my bill today, and I also want to knowledge Ruth Ellen Brosseau, who tabled this bill in the last Parliament.
Every year, about 11.2 million metric tons of edible food is wasted in Canada, costing more than $49 billion. This waste goes into landfills, and about 20% of Canada's methane emissions come from landfills. A day set aside in Canada to recognize the impacts of food waste on the environment is a strong step in developing awareness and in creating meaningful solutions.
The other part of this bill is to develop a national strategy to address food waste. Currently, 79% of food items that can be rescued and distributed are perishable. Having a national strategy to address this is imperative. When over four million Canadians do not have enough food to eat every day, having a national strategy is a better way of planning to keep people fed.
I want to thank the many local organizations in North Island—Powell River that support this bill.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)