Mr. Speaker, it is my honour to support my dear colleague's bill to create a national local food day.
The creation of a national local food day is especially important to me because I represent the agrifood technopole of Quebec, where agriculture is truly the economic driver of our region. In the riding of Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, we know how important local agriculture is to both the farmers and the consumers.
A big public demonstration is planned for November 18 in Montreal to support agriculture in my region. The event is being called “Garde-manger en danger” or “our pantry in peril”. I invite all my colleagues to join us and show their support for our farmers who work hard to feed us and ensure that we have good fresh products every day. Farmers are going through a tough time. Now more than ever it is important for us to rally behind them.
Bill C-281 would bring together farmers and consumers around the issue of local consumption. We should show our recognition and support for our local farmers who work hard for all of us. Having this day on the Friday before Thanksgiving would allow us to celebrate together this day of sharing between local farmers and citizens.
Local food is a great way to support farmers by cutting out the middleman and making direct producer-to-consumer transactions possible. Consumers get fresher, traceable seasonal produce. Our constituents care more about the quality of the food on their plate and supporting local farms, and they are tired of excess packaging. Buying local is very good for the planet.
According to the David Suzuki Foundation, eating locally is one of the top 10 things we can do to reduce our global footprint. Nowadays, one farmer can produce enough to feed over 50 families on less land and with less water and fewer resources than before. Local food is the obvious choice.
A Toronto FoodShare study found that a meal made with ingredients from a local farmers' market travels an average of 101 kilometres, whereas an imported meal travels an average of 5,364 kilometres, producing 100 times more greenhouse gas emissions than the meal from the local market. Eating locally also helps reduce the amount of plastic packaging associated with getting products to market. Let us remember that food packaging accounts for 70% of the world's plastic waste.
Producers across Canada and Quebec are subject to standards that protect the taste and quality of all Canadian products. Our quality standards represent a true guarantee for consumers. It is all the more important to fully support our producers now that Canada's borders have been opened to even more imports of American agricultural products. Quebec products meet standards and requirements that are not applied to imported products. Local producers end up at a disadvantage, because imported products can sometimes be cheaper, since they use ingredients that are banned in Quebec. By buying local, consumers can avoid these imported products and support local producers.
Quebec products also offer very clear labelling and traceability. For example, Quebeckers can find out which farm produced the eggs they are buying by going to oeuf.ca and typing in the code printed on the egg's shell.
By instituting a local food day, we can send a strong message to our constituents. This is an excellent way to use legislation to encourage Canadians to support local agriculture. We can also protect family farms and help them move out of the shadow of larger operations. We must all put this day of celebration in our calendars.
A national local food day would raise awareness about how hard it is for too many Canadians to access healthy, affordable food close to home.
I am proud to represent the riding of Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot in this House and to speak for our farmers, who work so hard every day. Today I want to thank each and every one of them for their dedication and their huge contribution to the vitality and economic development of our riding.
Local agriculture is part of our identity, and we are so proud of it. We need to pay tribute to all the farmers across the country who work hard to ensure our food sovereignty and to feed all Canadians.
We need to emphasize the importance of buying local now more than ever, considering the tough times our farmers are going through. I would like to commend the Maskoutains RCM, UPA Montérégie and the Agricultrices de la Montérégie-Est, which represent many farmers in my riding. I want to thank them all for the excellent work they do and for tirelessly defending our farmers' interests. They contribute to the vitality and economic development of Montérégie, the pantry of Quebec.
Eating locally helps us guarantee our food sovereignty, maintain local expertise, revitalize our agricultural land and create jobs in all our regions. We are all affected, directly or indirectly.
The people of Saint-Hyacinthe and Acton Vale keep telling me how important local agriculture is to them and how we need to protect it and acknowledge the farmers who breathe life into my riding and contribute to jobs and youth training.
Bill C-281 would complement Canada's Agriculture Day, which is celebrated in February, by focusing on local agriculture and all the sectors it encompasses, from producers to restaurants to artisans, as well as the riding's economic health and public health.
Food is a necessity. High-quality products are vital for public health. A population that maximizes the benefits of its food is a population in better health.
Bill C-281 is a good way to pay tribute to our local producers and to show our appreciation to all those people working hard in the background to feed us all. They contribute to Canada's success through their commitment and hard work.
Since 2011, the NDP has been promoting a Canadian food strategy that would combine objectives related to health, the environment, food quality and local and organic choices by consumers across the country.
Access to healthy food choices at affordable prices is a priority for the NDP. Meeting these objectives involves the support of our local farmers' markets. I have the honour to represent a riding where the land is fertile and agriculture is very diversified. Every day, residents of Saint-Hyacinthe and Acton Vale are able to meet the farmers that produce their food at the various kiosks at the Saint-Hyacinthe farmers' market on Cascades Street.
I would also like to highlight all of the events organized to support and promote our local food products, such as the Foire agroalimentaire de la région d'Acton and the Matinées gourmandes, which travel to several communities in my riding.
I would also like to thank the restaurants that put local products on their menus, and the grocers who make room on their shelves for local products.
Finally, I would like to thank the head of tourist development at the Saint-Hyacinthe Technopole, who promotes and offers our local products at the tourist information booth in the congress centre. What a great way to showcase the richness and diversity of the greater Saint-Hyacinthe and Acton regions.
There are multiple locations where residents of Saint-Hyacinthe and Acton Vale can find many high-quality local products such as cheese, milk, eggs, and all sorts of seasonal fruits and vegetables.
These locations do our riding proud. Farmers are happy to have such direct connections with consumers, and word of mouth helps them to attract and keep customers.
In closing, I would like to offer my full support to my dear colleague's bill, which seeks to create a national local food day. It is good to celebrate local food both in British Columbia and Quebec.