Madam Speaker, I would like to inform you that I will be splitting my time with the member for St. John's East.
It is an honour to stand in the House at the beginning of week one in the new year to address my distinguished colleagues. I look forward to the year ahead of us as we work together to build our country and communities.
During the break, I met with people from all over the riding of Toronto—Danforth, and I spoke with many business improvement associations about their priorities.
I also had the opportunity to meet with the representatives of creative industries based in my riding, who shared with me their hopes and concerns. The pre-budget consultations gave me the opportunity to meet a wide range of voters who spoke to me about the priorities that they felt the government should focus on.
Many of the ideas that I would like to talk about in the House today were raised and advocated by the voters that I met with during the Christmas break.
I look forward to working with my colleagues in the House to ensure that the concerns of the residents of Toronto—Danforth and Canadians are addressed by our new government. I look forward to hearing more stories from constituents and learning from their experiences as we discuss issues that face our communities and our country.
Today, I am here to address the House regarding two ways in which the Speech from the Throne looks toward our future. The first relates to green infrastructure and the second relates to food security.
In my riding, green infrastructure takes the form of climate change resilience. Infrastructure spending in Toronto—Danforth that addresses vulnerabilities in existing systems has the potential to unlock one of Canada's most underutilized urban environments. I am referring to Toronto's Port Lands and the re-naturalization of the mouth of the Don River.
The Don River winds its way across Toronto. My riding is bounded by the Don River on the west, the Don River and Taylor Creek on the north, and Lake Ontario on the south. The banks of the Don River are home to many parks, natural ecosystems, creative spaces such as the Evergreen Brick Works, and heritage sites such as Todmorden Mills.
The Don also meanders through the history of Canada. Before the arrival of European settlers, it was an important transitway and resource for countless generations of indigenous Canadians. Five thousand years ago, indigenous Canadians were camping and hunting on the eastern side of the Don. Before Confederation, Canada's Parliament met from time to time on its western bank. The river has always been a special place.
As Toronto grew, the valley of the Don went from wilderness to urban space. It slowly filled with factories, mills, and garbage dumps. The demands of the expanding city meant that the mouth of the Don had to be changed to facilitate transport and commerce. Initially, the river spilled into a natural estuary. Over time, fill was deposited that changed the lakeshore significantly. During the last century, the watercourse was diverted at a 90% angle through a concrete channel. This created a usable industrial space, but not a human one.
This unnatural diversion of the river has created risks for my riding, but at the same time, green infrastructure could unlock the potential of the Port Lands.
The risks are as follows. The shape of the river, made by machines and concrete, puts approximately three square kilometres of land and more than 600 homes at risk of flooding. Some of this land is industrial, some is residential, and much of it lays fallow awaiting regeneration. If the Don River's current configuration were exposed to a rain event like hurricane Hazel, which occurred in 1954, where nearly 20 centimetres of rain fell on southern Ontario over the course of one evening, the results could be catastrophic. This is the place where an important part of Canada's movie and television production industry is quartered. This is a vibrant neighbourhood with families and businesses.
During our discussions, voters spoke about pressing needs in areas such as affordable housing and public transit. However, they also expressed a strong desire to see us lay the foundations of the future today. We need to establish infrastructure that will build a future focused on creativity, innovation, and economic development.
Canada's 150th anniversary is coming up, and now is the time to think about our country's future and about the next 150 years. The work ahead involves re-naturalizing the mouth of the Don River and developing the Port Lands.
Last night, I had the pleasure of meeting with the secretary general for the Bureau International des Expositions who is currently visiting the city of Toronto at the mayor's invitation. The secretary general is visiting with a group of people who are exploring the possibility of hosting a World Expo in 2025 in Toronto.
A World Expo has a great deal of potential as an opportunity to showcase Canadian creativity and innovation to the world. The favoured site, if a bid were to be made, is the Port Lands. This is one example of how people are looking at this urban space as part of the future of Toronto and our country at large.
Yet, without a significant investment in flood protection, the parts of the community that are already in place are at risk and nothing further can be developed for fear of flooding. We put our best foot forward by investing in social infrastructure, physical infrastructure and community development rather than the risked costs, made greater by climate change events, of flood clean up.
What are we proposing? In short, we are proposing that the mouth of the Don River be re-naturalized. This is an example of green infrastructure, an example of how infrastructure can take climate change into account and be good for urban development. Investments in green infrastructure will protect neighbourhoods and the undeveloped Port Lands from floods and will lay the groundwork for the future of these largely unused and abandoned lands.
The second and final matter which I would like to discuss in the House today is food security.
In the Speech from the Throne, our government committed to support the health and well-being of Canadians. One of the ways that this can be accomplished is through ensuring food security for all Canadians. Indeed, the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food is tasked in his mandate letter to develop a food policy that promotes healthy living and safe food.
What does food security mean? It means giving Canadians reliable access to high quality, affordable, and nutritious food.
We all need healthy food to live well. That is a fundamental need for everyone. When we have access to healthy food, we are able to concentrate better at work or at school, and we are less dependent on the health care system.
Food safety has a direct impact on Canadians' well-being and on our economy.
The cost of fresh food can push people to rely on less nutritious options that can be high in sugars, fats, and salt. In the north and in remote communities in particular, the cost of healthy nutrient rich food is prohibitive. Many diet-related illnesses can be directly linked to food insecurity. Conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular illness, dental diseases, and obesity often stem from diet. The cumulative effect of food insecurity is tremendous, and some estimates put the cost to the Canadian health care system in the billions of dollars each year.
A food secure Canada is an achievable goal and the benefits would not only be measured in dollars saved. In Toronto—Danforth many people are working on food security issues to build the health of our community, be it through the Riverdale Food Working Group, the South Riverdale Community Health Centre, our local East York, LesHeville, Withrow Park and Good Food farmers' markets, or local school nutrition programs. We can build on these great first steps.
Food security also benefits the environment. Sustainable farming practices are less harmful to water and soil. Furthermore, efforts to reduce food wastage would limit the amount of good edible organics going to landfill. Locally, I worked with Second Harvest to create the Danforth Hunger Squad to divert healthy edible food from being wasted and to support new Canadians by bringing food to Newcomer Women's Services. I also worked with the farmers at the Withrow Park Farmers' market to gather healthy, local, organic produce to bring to a food bank at the Eastview Community Centre.
The possibilities available to achieve the goals set out in the Speech from the Throne, specifically ensuring the health and well-being of all Canadians, are endless. Food security is one of them, and I look forward to working with my colleagues in the House to achieve it.
I have discussed two matters of importance to Canadians and my constituents. The Speech from the Throne clearly looks to the future.
I look forward to working with my colleagues on these issues.