Evidence of meeting #39 for Agriculture and Agri-Food in the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was local.
A video is available from Parliament.
Liberal
Kent MacDonald Liberal Cardigan, PE
How will this help farms as a tool for business risk management?
Executive Director, Prince Edward Island Federation of Agriculture
I really think that's the most exciting part about it. As we get into the serious business of the next policy framework for agriculture, it's clear that, at the national scale, business risk management is going to be the debate. We hear about the problems, but we don't hear a lot about solutions. We hear that it's slow, backward-looking and blind to the challenges of climate change. My understanding is that 40% of AgriStability payments come in over eight months after the program year ends.
Our vision for business risk management and data infrastructure has parametric insurance, best practices, climate best practices, support for business risk management and rewards for farmers when they create more resilience. If we could go back and take a moment before the second round of OFCAF began, we could have done quite a bit with that money to further these goals.
Executive Director, Prince Edward Island Federation of Agriculture
BRM is going to require a huge investment in on-farm data.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Michael Coteau
Thank you.
Next, we'll go to the Bloc Québécois for two and a half minutes.
Bloc
Sébastien Lemire Bloc Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Ms. Bercier, I was very affected by your testimony and your vision of agriculture.
There is an article in Le Droit about your business, the fact that you sell green manures and its importance to the resilience of your farm. Your spouse is quoted in the article. He mentions a practice in Quebec where you get a refund if you present a bill for green manure seeds.
Would that kind of practice hasten the transition to more resilient farms? Ultimately, is it possible that the more the government is involved in initiatives that lower prices for producers, such as local distribution, the more food security and affordability for consumers will increase?
Farm Manager, Ferme Agriber Inc., Marc Bercier Seed Cleaning Inc.
Absolutely. That's right.
I would say that we've seen a huge increase in green manure sales in the last five years or so. Year after year, it's going up. That's very encouraging because, especially in recent years, we thought that the economy and tight margins would dictate that farmers would invest less in green manures precisely because it's something they could cut from their budget. Like it or not, when you apply green manure, it's a long-term investment. You don't automatically see the benefits of green manure the next year. It's really long term.
However, I must say that, in recent years, we have been encouraged, both in Ontario and in Quebec. That said, much more sophisticated green manures are sold in Quebec, precisely because of the provincial subsidy that farmers receive. It encourages them to invest in their soils and enrich them to provide higher yields in future years. Investing in green manure definitely leads to resilience and benefits future generations.
Also, it would be great to have a program. There is a federal program to encourage people to apply green manure, but it is a bit complicated and the maximum amount people can get is $20,000, I think. Again, it's a system where you have to set up an environmental plan. It's a bit complicated. It also operates on a first-come, first-served basis.
Farm Manager, Ferme Agriber Inc., Marc Bercier Seed Cleaning Inc.
However, if we could encourage the use of green manures more at the federal level, that would be great.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Michael Coteau
Thank you very much.
What we're going to do is suspend for a few minutes in order to get the next panel up. We need to get them up as soon as possible because if the bells start while we're suspended, we'll be stuck for half an hour without being able to do the work.
Thank you to our witnesses. We'll suspend for a few minutes.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Michael Coteau
Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2) and the motion adopted by the committee on Thursday, September 18, the committee is resuming its study on food security in the face of global instability.
I'd like to welcome our witnesses joining us here today.
I assure you that it will be quiet in a few minutes.
From the Community Food Sharing Association Inc., we have Fred Marshall and Tina Bishop. From Moisson Estrie, we have Christian Bibeau, general manager. From Prince Edward Island Potato Board, we have Greg Donald and Krista Shaw.
Thank you to each and every one of you for being here today and joining us. We do appreciate it.
We will start with five-minute deputations by our witnesses.
Actually, I'll go through a couple of the rules here. Please wait until I recognize you or until a member directly asks you a question. For those participating by video conference, click the microphone icon to activate your mic. Please mute yourself when you're not speaking. For those on Zoom, select the appropriate channel for interpretation. Committee members may ask questions in either French or English, so please adjust your interpretation to the right channel.
Of course, we want to make sure that all participants consult the guidelines written on the cards on the table. These measures are in place to help prevent audio and feedback incidents and to protect the health and safety of all participants, including our interpreters. There's a card with a QR code for a short awareness video, if you need more information.
We will start online with the Prince Edward Island Potato Board.
You have five minutes.
Krista Shaw Director of Stakeholder Relations, Prince Edward Island Potato Board
Good afternoon, Mr. Chair and honourable members. Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today as part of your work to strengthen food security in the face of global instability.
My name is Krista Shaw. I'm the director of stakeholder relations at the Prince Edward Island Potato Board. I'm joined today by our general manager, Greg Donald.
Food security is no longer a future concern. It's a national priority directly tied to Canada's economic stability, sovereignty and resilience. Around the world, supply chain disruptions, geopolitical conflict, protectionism, climate pressures and economic uncertainty are reshaping how countries approach food production and access. At the same time, the number of farms in Canada, including in P.E.I., continues to decline.
If Canada wants a secure and resilient food system, food security must become a central lens in all federal decision-making. This is no longer simply an agricultural issue; it is a matter of national security. Canada is fortunate to have some of the most skilled, innovative and environmentally responsible growers in the world, yet producers face mounting pressures, including persistent inflation, rising input costs, labour shortages, market volatility, declining margins and increasingly severe weather events. Farmers are being asked to produce more with fewer resources while continuing to invest in new technologies to promote sustainability. Every farmer who leaves the industry represents a significant loss to Canada's economy and food-producing capacity. Government must do everything possible to protect this vital sector.
One clear example is the delay in product and application approvals through the pesticides regulatory directorate, formerly the PMRA. These delays place Canadian agriculture at a competitive disadvantage and limit our ability to respond to evolving challenges. Timely access to safe, federally approved crop protection tools, precision technologies and modern application methods, such as drone applicators, are essential to managing crop risks, adapting to weather pressures, improving productivity and reducing environmental impact. Canadian farmers cannot fall behind global competitors in accessing the tools they need to remain productive and sustainable.
Innovation is critical to both sustainability and food security. New technologies allow growers to produce more food with fewer resources and lower environmental impact. In P.E.I., increasingly hot and dry conditions have made irrigation a necessity rather than an option. Modern storage facilities and advanced packing technologies are also essential to maintaining crop quality and reducing waste. However, shrinking margins are forcing many growers to choose between taking on additional debt to modernize or leaving the industry altogether. Access to capital investment programs for all sizes of farming operations will be essential to maintaining a secure domestic food supply.
Canada's regulatory and trade bodies must also recognize the real-world impacts of their decisions on interprovincial trade, export competitiveness and international partnerships. P.E.I., a province of roughly 180,000 people, grows enough potatoes to feed 25 million people. Canadian growers depend on reliable access to domestic and international markets. Regulatory decisions must be made with a practical business lens that supports competitiveness and strong trading relationships.
Canadian farmers are resilient. They adapt, innovate and continue moving forward despite the immense pressures they face—
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Michael Coteau
I'm sorry. I have to interrupt for one second. I apologize, Ms. Shaw, for interrupting. I'll just stop your time here for a second.
The bells are going, so a vote has been called. It's a 30-minute bell, so the vote will be at 12:37. it will take us 10 minutes to vote, so we'll be gone probably until 12:47 or 12:50.
I need a motion from the committee to continue working now. I'm seeking unanimous consent.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Michael Coteau
That's good. We can continue.
I'm going to work out the math here, because we do need to do the drafting instructions. We've delayed this since last week, and I don't know if we're going to have time to do that. I'll try to figure that out with the clerk now, but we'll continue now.
I'll get back to you. We may have to adjust the time a little bit.
Go ahead, Ms. Shaw. You still have one minute and 20 seconds.
Director of Stakeholder Relations, Prince Edward Island Potato Board
Thank you. I'll just restart this last paragraph.
Canadian farmers are resilient. They adapt, innovate and continue moving forward despite immense pressures, but resilience alone cannot carry the burden. Growers need policies, regulatory systems, trade frameworks and investment programs that support innovation, modernization and global competitiveness and that put the business of food production first, not last.
Canadian farmers already excel at producing safe, sustainable food. They should be focused on growing that food, not questioning whether they can survive the next season, because, in the face of global instability, the countries that remain strongest will be those capable of feeding themselves and feeding the world.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Michael Coteau
Thank you so much.
Next, we'll go to the Community Food Sharing Association Inc. for five minutes.
Tina Bishop Executive Director, Community Food Sharing Association Inc.
Mr. Chair and honourable members of the committee, thank you for the invitation to appear before you today as part of your study on food security in the face of global instability. As your letter notes, this study focuses on strengthening local food production and processing, reducing environmental footprints and supporting local purchasing initiatives. These are priorities that deeply reflect the realities we face in Newfoundland and Labrador.
My name is Tina Bishop. I serve as the general manager of the Community Food Sharing Association, the provincial hub for food banking in Newfoundland and Labrador. We support a network of more than 60 food banks across the province, from remote coastal communities to urban centres. We see first-hand how global instability translates into local hardship.
Food insecurity in our province is shaped by three intersecting pressures.
The first is geography. Many communities rely on long, weather-dependent supply chains. When global instability disrupts transportation or availability, our shelves feel it immediately.
The second is cost of living. Food cost inflation hits harder in Newfoundland and Labrador, where prices are already amongst the highest in the country.
The third is limited local production. Newfoundland and Labrador imports roughly 90% of its food. Any global shock—economic, environmental or geopolitical—becomes a local crisis.
Your motion notes that consumer demand for locally produced food has reached unprecedented levels and that Canada has fallen significantly in agri-food capital investment. These challenges are magnified in Newfoundland and Labrador, where local production capacity is small but community willingness is strong.
One community-driven solution is the Sowing Seeds—Growing Community partnership. While large-scale structural change is essential, I want to highlight one partnership that demonstrates what is possible when community organizations, volunteers and local leaders work together to strengthen food security. The Sowing Seeds—Growing Community partnership is an initiative that brings together community groups, growers, volunteers and local leaders to expand community gardening; increase access to fresh, locally grown produce; build skills in growing, harvesting and food preparation; and strengthen local food systems in a province with short growing seasons and limited arable land.
We are grateful for the recent grant from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, which is helping us expand and stabilize the Sowing Seeds—Growing Community program. This federal investment is enabling new community growing spaces, increased production of fresh produce for food banks, training and engagement opportunities that build long-term food skills, and greater resilience in local food access during periods of global instability. This support is a concrete example of how federal investment can empower community-led innovation and directly advance the committee's focus on strengthening local food production and processing, from northern and remote communities to urban centres. It also demonstrates that innovation in food security is not only technological but also social. It is about empowering communities to grow together, even in challenging climates.
There are also infrastructure challenges. While community partnerships are essential, our ability to distribute food efficiently across the province is limited by a critical challenge. The Community Food Sharing Association has outgrown its current facility. Our warehouse was never designed to meet today's scale of need. We are facing insufficient storage capacity for dry goods and perishables, limited refrigeration and freezer space, inadequate loading and distribution infrastructure, and no room to expand programming, training or community initiatives. In a province where supply chains are fragile and weather-dependent, a modern, climate-resilient food distribution centre is not a luxury; it is essential infrastructure.
A new purpose-built facility would strengthen provincial food security, improve emergency response capacity, support local food procurement and processing, reduce waste, increase efficiency and expand our ability to store and distribute fresh, locally grown produce.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Michael Coteau
Thank you so much.
We're running out of time, so I have to stop at five minutes.
I'll turn it over to Moisson Estrie and Christian Bibeau for five minutes.
Christian Bibeau General Manager, Moisson Estrie
Good afternoon, and thank you for having me here today.
My name is Christian Bibeau, and I am the general manager of the Moisson Estrie food bank in Sherbrooke, Quebec.
Food security refers to the ability of a population to have stable, sufficient and affordable access to nutritious food. In Canada, security is increasingly influenced by global instability.
The international factors that undermine the food supply include wars and trade tensions, climate events, rising energy and transportation costs, and dependence on imports.
Wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, as well as the current geopolitical tensions, are having serious effects on the food security of Canadian households. We're also seeing the effects of the tariffs imposed by the United States and the growing number of trade conflicts involving China and Europe, in particular. This global reality has a major impact on the Canadian government's ability to act while budgets focus substantially on the military industry rather than food security.
The cost of living in general and, specifically, the financial burden of finding and living in adequate housing are among the direct consequences of conflicts and wars. Also, the cost of food is increasing and grocery baskets are getting smaller. Farm businesses are undermined by the energy and input costs needed for production.
The climate issue also has major material and human and financial consequences as forest fires, droughts, floods and other events erode the overall health of our communities. This forces our governments to take costly emergency measures that harm public finances, which has a trickle-down effect, reducing the investments needed to facilitate and promote access to sufficient quantities of healthy food for the public.
In short, despite a significant amount of farmland and a strong bio-food sector, Canada remains at the mercy of situations beyond its political and diplomatic control and capacity.
There are solutions: having a strong, confident and bold commitment to replace imports, where possible, through ambitious food self-sufficiency policies; promoting access to land and decisively funding the next generation of farmers; putting an end to farmland speculation; taking action to be better prepared to face the consequences of climate change; funding, along with the provinces, the purchase of Canadian food and implementing a bold bio-food policy; and implementing attractive tax measures to encourage reclaiming food that is fit for human consumption.
Lastly, we need to do everything we can to significantly reduce food waste.
Food waste is a major economic, social and environmental issue in Canada and affects the entire food chain, from farm to table. Canada is the biggest food waster in North America and the second biggest in the G7. Each household throws out an average of 140 kilos of food each year, a loss of approximately $1,300.
According to a 2024 study by Second Harvest, Canada's largest food rescue organization, 46% of all food in Canada is wasted every year; 41% of that waste is avoidable and is worth $58 billion. Best-before dates are responsible for 23% of avoidable food waste, which contributes to greenhouse gas emissions to the tune of about 25.7 metric tons per year, or the equivalent of 253,000 flights from Toronto to Vancouver.
Back home, we have a small but very concrete project called Viande solidaire, which seeks to reclaim and upcycle meat from compromised animals in order to support organizations involved in the fight against food insecurity. The project objectives are to reduce food waste, offer a new path for producers by providing an additional option for some compromised animals, support local communities by supplying them with meat and give food aid organizations in our region access to more animal protein.
When an animal can no longer be processed in the usual commercial channels, producers can choose to send it to the Viande solidaire project so that the meat can feed the community. Otherwise, the producer has to basically dispose of the animal, which amounts to a net loss for them and also, obviously, for the community as a whole.
Generally speaking, when an agricultural producer donates food to a registered charity in Canada—
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Michael Coteau
Hold on for a second, sir. I think we lost interpretation there for a second.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Michael Coteau
We lost the sound quality as well.
The five minutes are exhausted, but what I'll do is give you an extra 20 seconds just to wrap up, considering there was a bit of disturbance at the end. Maybe you can try again and we can see if the quality has restored itself.