Evidence of meeting #69 for Agriculture and Agri-Food in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was agriculture.
A recording is available from Parliament.
4 p.m.
Liberal
Pierre Breton Liberal Shefford, QC
That is an interesting example.
I have a few minutes left and I'd like to hear Mr. Groleau's comments, as he represents thousands of Quebec producers in this dossier.
4 p.m.
Chair, Union des producteurs agricoles
The agricultural policy created by Mr. Gendron, the former Quebec Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, had a component related to local supply in public institutions. Public institutions certainly constitute an important market. A number of European countries introduced the requirement, in their tenders, whereby a portion of the food purchased must be produced locally or within a certain distance of institutions. That creates markets. It is in line with what I was saying about governments being able to regulate and provide some indications. That is a concrete example.
4:05 p.m.
Liberal
Pierre Breton Liberal Shefford, QC
It is often a matter of price. On a small scale, we want to buy locally. We want to at least be able to pay the same price we would pay for a non-local product. That is somewhat related to what you were saying earlier. Ultimately, the price often determines the consumer's behaviour.
Thank you.
4:05 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Pat Finnigan
Thank you, Mr. Breton.
Ms. Brosseau, the floor is yours for six minutes.
4:05 p.m.
NDP
Ruth Ellen Brosseau NDP Berthier—Maskinongé, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I would like to continue talking about buying local.
In the 41st Parliament, my colleague from Salaberry—Suroît introduced a bill that would require government institutions to source their food locally. I think that she will soon introduce a similar bill. I cannot talk about all the details because the legislation has still not been introduced in the House, but it would be worthwhile to study such a bill.
I would like to come back to the report of the special rapporteur, who came in 2012. I started on the ag committee in 2012; that was when we had the Conservative government. When the special rapporteur came to Canada and put forward his 19-page report with recommendations, there wasn't much action. Now we have a new government, and this government has made a promise to move forward with a food strategy, which is very good, and we're doing this study at committee.
Can we go back to what was said in 2012? Has there been any progress made? In the four priorities that were announced by the Minister of Agriculture, we don't talk about right to food specifically. I think it should be mentioned, and it's not too late to highlight it more.
Can I get some comments around that, please, Madame Bronson?
4:05 p.m.
Executive Director, Food Secure Canada
I think that was a pretty exciting time for Canada, 2012, when Olivier De Schutter came here. He went across the country and met with many people. He finished with a report with a series of recommendations, which I say, with all due respect, has been repeatedly submitted to the senior civil servants who are working on Canada's food policy.
It has been raised at the Food Summit, and it will be raised again and again over the coming months. We put out five big ideas at the beginning of this process, and our first idea is that we should recognize the human right to food. Why? It's because it makes food a matter not of charity but of human dignity. If we don't recognize food as a human right, we will forever be going to the food bank solution of donating charitable food for those who cannot afford it.
When we signed on to the covenant, we did not say that overnight no one would be hungry. We said that we were committing, Canada as a country was committing, to progressively realizing the right to food. That would mean that there are fewer and fewer hungry people each year. Unfortunately, that's not what happened.
Olivier De Schutter's first recommendation was to have a right to food strategy. Well, this government announced a food policy, so we think that what we need to do is build the right to food inside that policy. Let us enunciate it clearly, as we have done for health care. We have stated in this country that health care is universal, it is free, accessible, transferable—and I'm not a Canada Health Act expert.
If we clearly state that food is a basic human right and that it is the intention of this government and further governments to realize that right for all Canadians without discrimination, I think we would be really making quite a break with the past, and it would allow all of us to buy into that vision and to work towards realizing it.
He also recommended the review of nutrition north, a universal school food program, and more government support for a diversity of agricultural practices. It's certainly worthwhile going back. It's not a long report; it's maybe 15 pages, with a page and a half of recommendations, and I think they're all still valid today.
4:10 p.m.
NDP
Ruth Ellen Brosseau NDP Berthier—Maskinongé, QC
Thank you, Ms. Bronson.
Mr. Pegg, can I get some comments around the importance of the right to food?
Maybe you could also talk about a poverty reduction strategy. The people going to food banks are workers, students, sometimes seniors. Often, when I visit community groups and food banks, they say the number are not going down; more and more people are coming every year.
Can you talk about how the government is doing by way of a poverty reduction strategy and about the importance of moving forward with concrete action on it, please?
4:10 p.m.
Director, Policy and Research, Food Banks Canada
We're very happy to see the federal government moving forward in a variety of areas on a food policy, on a poverty reduction strategy, on a national housing strategy. These things are all promising, but it's hard to say what's going to happen with the strategy when you're not sure what the content is going to be. The content is going to be very important.
One area in which the right to food in Canada is in my opinion most clearly lacking is among indigenous populations. Since this is a federal table, I think it makes most sense to talk about on-reserve indigenous people, since the federal government has responsibility for many of those communities.
You said that many people using food banks are workers, seniors, and children, which is absolutely true. To add to that, many people using food banks are on welfare, social assistance, or employment assistance—you guys call it something different in every province, depending on where you are—and it's the federal government's practice to match provincial and territorial social assistance rates on reserve.
If you're a single person in Canada and you fall on hard times—you lose your job because of an injury, and maybe you've been working in part-time jobs or temporary work for a couple of years—you may get EI for five or six months, and then what do you have to go to, if you're not well enough to go back to work? You have to go on social assistance, which is not a great place to be, because if you're a single person on social assistance you have to find a way to live on $8,000 a year.
4:10 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Pat Finnigan
Thank you, Mr. Pegg. Unfortunately, the time is up.
Now we have Mr. Longfield, for six minutes.
4:10 p.m.
Liberal
Lloyd Longfield Liberal Guelph, ON
Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to all the witnesses who are here.
I am going to continue on some of the line of questioning that's happening today. I want to start on the innovation piece. Innovation always gets my attention.
I'm going to go back to the campaign. I think we had 11 candidate debates. The first one was hosted by Food Secure Canada at Innovation Guelph. It's a centre that I am a co-founder of. It was a hot afternoon. We had six candidates, and Food Secure Canada wanted to make sure candidates were talking about food. Here we are—different table, not quite as hot inside, probably the same outside.
The sixth point you made, Madam Bronson, was about innovation.
The Children's Foundation in Guelph runs a program called food and friends. They collect Christmas trees, about 4,000 trees a year. They raised about $50,000 last year. They serve 16,000 students, 1.9 million meals a year. It's social innovation. This was started because the city said they weren't going to collect Christmas trees anymore, so the Children's Foundation stepped in and said, let's get some volunteers to pick up the trees. Pay five or 10 dollars apiece, and we'll collect some money and help the kids.
This is an example of social innovation that wasn't driven by government or big programs. There are probably other grassroots programs. Co-operation agri-food New Brunswick is another example.
Does your organization track examples of grassroots efforts to help children get good meals in their schools? Is that something we can include in our food study? If the government could help from the sidelines, because the programs are being driven by the grassroots, is there a role that social innovation funding or shared ideas could play?
It's a long question.
4:10 p.m.
Executive Director, Food Secure Canada
Yes. I just love the fact that you came back to the Eat Think Vote campaign. Just a citizen and a non-profit organization.... That campaign happened during the election.
4:15 p.m.
Executive Director, Food Secure Canada
I also met Mr. Poissant during those events, and to have you here now.... I'd like to think that it had something to do with getting food policy into the mandate letter. It makes me feel very good about engaging during election time. Thank you for that reference.
We don't have a comprehensive assessment, for example, of school food programs in this country. There is no map. What we have now is a patchwork of programs. Some kids are getting Coke and doughnuts, and some kids are getting fresh vegetables and hummus. There are all kinds of programs across this country.
The vast majority of them are very innovative, very grassroots, and they are doing the best they can with what they have at their disposal. I think it's exactly the model you're suggesting that the Coalition for Healthy School Food is after. It's a bottom-up model. It's not a new, big, one-size federal program, with all its complex rules that everybody has to follow.
It says, for example, we believe that all children should have the right to a healthy diet. We are creating a social innovation fund to which school boards, non-profits, and municipalities can apply in order to take the best of what exists in their community and build it up. We have fantastic programs in this regard. Some of them are doing just amazing farm-to-fork stuff.
4:15 p.m.
Liberal
Lloyd Longfield Liberal Guelph, ON
Great. It's good to get your testimony as we are writing our report. We'll grab things as we go. Hopefully, we can include that.
There is also a social innovation start-up in Guelph, 10C, an incubator space for social innovation, which will include a kitchen to help refugees learn how to cook meals using local products, change of diet, or maybe accommodate their diet by working with local grocers. We are looking at a centre in downtown Guelph to help with food innovation.
When we talk about superclusters, and possibly the food supercluster, you made a comment during your presentation about matching existing innovation funds with social innovation funds. Is there something for our testimony on that?
4:15 p.m.
Executive Director, Food Secure Canada
I think that sometimes a shortcut is made when we talk about innovation. Everybody thinks technology. Of course, technology is important. I sit here with my iPhone, and I'm not denying that. But the innovation that exists in the people I work with amongst the food banks, school food programs, farmers, and fishers is all over this country. Every one of them is starving for funds. I'll tell you this. They're doing it on almost nothing.
4:15 p.m.
Executive Director, Food Secure Canada
They're doing amazing work, and they have huge potential to grow the economy.
4:15 p.m.
Liberal
Lloyd Longfield Liberal Guelph, ON
I want to pivot quickly over to Mr. Pegg. I was at the Guelph food bank last Friday, as part of the awareness campaign for hunger across Canada. The food bank is serving 22 organizations in Guelph. They're focusing some of their efforts around food waste, working with local grocers. They haven't started to work with restaurants yet. Is there a connection between food waste and food banks?
We're looking at food waste as part of our food policy. Is there some way that the food banks in Canada could help us with that part of our study?
4:15 p.m.
Director, Policy and Research, Food Banks Canada
I think food banks have been quite involved in that aspect of things. Food banks have been acquiring safe, healthy, surplus food for many years. I think they would prefer they didn't have to, unfortunately. It's kind of a stereotypical thinking to say it, but I think it's important to say it.
4:15 p.m.
Liberal
Lloyd Longfield Liberal Guelph, ON
They have to. Great, thank you.
Those were wonderful presentations. Thank you very much.
4:15 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Pat Finnigan
Thank you, Mr. Longfield.
Now, Mr. Peschisolido, you have six minutes.
4:15 p.m.
Liberal
Joe Peschisolido Liberal Steveston—Richmond East, BC
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Pegg, like Guelph, in Steveston—East Richmond we have a phenomenal food bank, in Richmond. The executive director, Alex Nixon, is phenomenal. He gets involved in the community. We were chatting about the same kind of thing, not exactly what you said—that food insecurity is not about food—but that we need economic growth to have a progressive society.
One thing Mr. Nixon discusses with me is the whole notion of buying local. For our food policy, we export food, but we want food security, so we want to buy local. Do you have any suggestions or thoughts on how we can take a buy local approach, maybe make it regional, and make it part of our economic system for food production? Are they incompatible?
4:20 p.m.
Director, Policy and Research, Food Banks Canada
I would say that's outside my area. I would pass that one over to Ms. Bronson, if it's okay with you. She's kind of the expert on that one.
4:20 p.m.
Liberal
4:20 p.m.
Executive Director, Food Secure Canada
Maybe Amanda wants to intervene here as well, but I would refer you to an excellent report called “Dollars and Sense”, which talks about how the money and investment that goes into local food gets circulated through the economy many times and therefore has great potential to create good jobs.
Did you want to add something to that?