Andrew McClelland
Advocate Staff Reporter
Canadians have had their say on what they want from a national food policy. Now, the only question that remains is what Ottawa will do with the tens of thousands of suggestions they’ve received for its long-term visioning project entitled, “A Food Policy for Canada.”
Over the course of the past four months, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) has been holding public consultations asking Canadian citizens, agricultural producers, processors and just about anyone who has an opinion about what a nationwide policy on food matters should contain.
The response was so overwhelming that AAFC extended the comment period for its online survey by a month. The response shows that Canadians care about how their food is produced, inspected, shipped and sold.
AAFC states the food policy “will set a long-term vision for the country’s health, environmental, social, and economic goals related to food, while also identifying actions that can be taken in the short-term to improve Canada’s food system.”
Minister of Agriculture Lawrence MacAulay announced the consultations at the Canadian Association for Food Studies Conference in Toronto on May 29. Implementing a national food policy was a Liberal government election promise. When MacAulay was appointed to the cabinet position, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke of the priority of developing the policy in a published mandate letter addressed to the new minister.
Trudeau clearly stated that one of MacAulay’s key tasks would be to “develop a food policy that promotes healthy living and safe food by putting more healthy, high-quality food, produced by Canadian ranchers and farmers, on the tables of families across the country.”
The initial consultations for the food policy focused on four key themes: gaining better access to affordable food; improving health and food safety; conserving soil, water and air; and growing more high-quality food.
Those are things that Canadian agricultural producers have a vested interest in. The federal government has already heard from about 30,000 Canadians through its survey and public consultations.
MacAulay and other industry stakeholders met in Ottawa to hash out further details of the “Food Policy for Canada” on June 22 and 23. An “engagement session” was also held in St. Hyacinthe on Aug. 16.
“The decisions we make as a government, and as individuals, about food have a major impact on not only our health and well-being, but on our environment, our communities, and our economy,” said MacAulay in an official statement following the public consultations. “Conversations like the one we are having today are vital to ensuring the food choices we make are the right ones, while ensuring we meet the growing world demand for high-quality foods produced by our farmers and ranchers.”
A summary report based on the feedback received during the public consultations is due this fall.
