Mr. Chair and members of the committee, thank you for the invitation to appear today.
I am joined today by Olivia Romaniw, a research associate at the lab who is attending in person in Ottawa.
I am appearing remotely today from Cork, Ireland, where I am speaking at an international agribusiness conference examining the state of the global food economy. The discussions taking place here reinforce how interconnected food systems have become and how geopolitical tensions, climate-related disruptions, supply chain shocks and economic uncertainty continue to challenge food security around the world.
Food security is often misunderstood. Canada does not have a food security problem. We have a competitiveness and productivity problem. We are one of the world's largest agricultural producers and exporters, yet millions of Canadians struggle to afford food. The challenge before us is not simply about producing more food, but producing, processing, distributing and marketing food more efficiently and competitively.
Last week's announcement of Canada's national food security strategy is an important acknowledgement that food matters. The strategy includes several promising investments in food processing, controlled environment agriculture, food hubs and support for independent grocers. These initiatives may strengthen parts of our domestic food system and improve resilience.
However, a strategy is more than a collection of investments. A strategy requires a clear vision, measurable objectives, and a framework for accountability. Food security cannot be purchased through government spending alone. It is earned through investment, innovation, productivity and competitiveness.
Today, we would like to offer three recommendations that would strengthen Canada's food security without requiring significant new spending by Ottawa.
First, make food affordability a formal lens for federal policy-making. Before introducing new regulations, taxes or programs affecting the food sector, government departments should be required to assess their impact on food affordability and food system competitiveness. Canadians deserve to know how public policy affects the cost of food before decisions are made.
Second, launch a national review of internal trade barriers affecting food. Canadians often speak about food sovereignty and local food systems, yet we continue to tolerate rules that make it unnecessarily difficult to move food, labour and products across provincial boundaries. Improving the flow of food within Canada would strengthen resilience, increase competition and lower costs without spending a dollar of additional public money.
Third, establish measurable national food security benchmarks and publish annual scorecards. We cannot manage what we do not measure. Canada should track indicators such as food affordability, domestic processing capacity, investment levels, productivity growth, food insecurity rates and supply chain resilience. The federal government has announced a 10-year strategy. Canadians deserve to know whether the country is actually becoming more food secure over time.
Food security in an unstable world will not be achieved through protectionism or self-sufficiency. No country can produce everything efficiently. Canada's strength has always been its ability to trade, innovate and compete. Our objective should be to build a food system that is resilient, productive, globally connected and affordable for Canadians.
We look forward to your questions. Thank you.