Policy recommendations & actions
Food Secure Canada has been busy talking with members and other food-system stakeholders, helping to set the stage for A Food Policy for Canada. It all started with a discussion paper, From Patchwork to Policy Coherence. We followed-up with our Five Big Ideas and a series of community engagement events across Canada to bring diverse grassroots and practitioners’ perspectives to the consultations. With the support and input of our members and partners, we submitted the following documents to the federal government on the development of A Food Policy for Canada:
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FIVE BIG IDEAS FOR A BETTER FOR SYSTEM PROPOSAL NATIONAL FOOD POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS A NEW GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE FOR FOOD POLICY PRESENTATIONS TO PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEES |
Five Big Ideas for a Better Food System
May 2017
Canadians are concerned with the health and sustainability of the food they eat, and, as more and more people struggle to put good food on the table, our food system has become an issue of increasing priority. FSC submitted to the government Five Big Ideas for a Better Food System.
National Food Policy Recommendations
October 2017
As part of this consultation process, FSC submitted to the government an overarching Policy Brief, structured to respond to the Government’s four themes.
A New Governance Structure for Food Policy
December 2017
As the Government develops A Food Policy for Canada to provide an integrated approach to food-systems, governance has emerged as a critcal issue. The report A Case for a National Food Policy Council was compiled at the request of an informal network of organizations from the food business, farming, civil society, philanthropic and academic sectors interested in national food policy, convened by the Arrell Food Institute at the University of Guelph, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, Food Secure Canada, Maple Leaf Foods and the McConnell Foundation.
UPDATE: On February 19, 2021, AAFC has announced the Canadian Food Policy Advisory Council (CFPAC).
Read the report A Case for a National Food Policy Council
Read the joint letter sent to Minister Lawrence MacAulay
Read the follow-up letter sent to Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau
Read the joint letter sent to Minister Lawrence MacAulay
Read FSC's press release on announcement of the CFPAC
Presentations to Parliamentary Committees
Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food (AGRI) - September 26, 2017
Food Secure Canada's Executive Director, Diana Bronson, appeared before the House of Commons' Standing Committee on AGRI, to share our key priorities for A Food Policy for Canada.
ADditional PRESENTATIONs:
Presentation to the Standing Committee on Agriculture re: Bill C-18 - Diana Bronson (FSC) and Pat Mooney (ETC) - February 3, 2015 (EN / FR)
Presentation before the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Foods - Anna Paskal (FSC) - February 29, 2012. Audio. (EN / FR)
Presentation to the Senate Committee on Agriculture on the question of a national food policy - Diana Bronson and Anna Paskal (FSC) - April 24, 2012. Transcript. (EN / FR)
Presentation before the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Foods on the matter of red-meat supply chains - Kathleen Gibson (BCFSN / FSC) - May 16, 2012. Transcript. (EN / FR)
Press Conference on Parliament Hill re: a national food policy - Diana Bronson (FSC), Mary Simon (ITK) and Bill Jeffery (CSPI) and Paul Slomp (NFU) - May 16, 2012. (EN)
Presentation before the Standing Committee on International Trade on the Canada-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement - Diana Bronson (FSC) and Paul Slomp (NFU) - May 17, 2012. Audio. (EN / FR)
Presentation to the Standing Committee on Finance during the 2013 pre-budget consultations - Diana Bronson (FSC) - November 20, 2012. Webcast. (EN / FR)
Community Engagement Events
What’s Your Recipe for a Better Food System? were community engagement allowing the community to provide input for A Food Policy for Canada. Food Secure Canada members hosted 23 in-person events across Canada and 4 web sessions between July 15 and September 30, 2017.
Find out more about the events
Additional Policy Briefs and Reports
A Roof Over Our Stomach July 2021
What was the process that led Canada to a legislated right to housing? Could a similar approach be used to legislate the right to food, which is also an entitlement? Tasha Stansbury explores these questions in "A Roof Over Our Stomachs: The Right to Housing in Canada and its Implications for the Right to Food", a thought-provoking paper on the Canadian housing rights and its implications for food rights.
Right to Food Brief October 2017
FSC signed on a special brief on the right to food developed by PhD student Nadia Lambeck on behalf of the Ad-hoc working group on the right to food. The brief is supported by a range of human rights groups and experts. This brief is a direct follow-up to the Mission of the UN Special rapporteur on the right to food in 2012.
From Patchwork to Policy Coherence Discussion Paper - May 2017
This initial discussion paper outlined the key principles and priorities that should be addressed as the consultation is undertaken and as the policy is developed.
Mapping the Food Policy Landscape - August 2017
A series of discussion papers exploring policies in the areas of sustainable ag, school food, new farmers, indigenous and northern food sovereignty, local and sustainable food systems and food insecurity.
Eat Think Vote Briefing Notes - April 2016
Eat Think Vote was a campaign organized by Food Secure Canada and other partners to bring attention to national food policy in the next Canadian federal election.
A People's Food Policy for Canada - 2015
The People's Food Policy Project (2008-2011) mobilized approximately 3,500 people across Canada in a grassroots initiative to develop a food sovereignty policy for Canada. Ten policy discussion papers of the People's Food Policy capture the many ideas and conversations that came out of our Kitchen Table Talks (2010-2011).
Letters to Members of Parliament, Senators and Federal Agencies
(Submitted in one or both Official Languages)
- Letter to the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, re: Food-related priorities for Ministerial mandate letters, November 15, 2021 (EN / FR)
- Letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Leader of the Liberal Party, re: Achieving the ambition of the Food Policy for Canada, October 1, 2021 (EN / FR)
- Letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Leader of the Liberal Party, re: Food-related priorities for Ministerial mandate letters, October 24, 2019 (EN)
- Letter to Senators, re: It's Time to Pass Bill S-228, December 4, 2018 (EN)
- Joint Letter to the Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, re: Food Policy Governance Innovation and a National Food Policy Council, December 17, 2017 (EN)
- Letter to the Honourable Jane Philpott, Minister of Health, re: Healthy Diets, January 13, 2016 (EN / FR)
- Letter to the Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, re: National Food Policy, December 18, 2015 (EN)
- Letter to the Honourable Jane Philpott, Minister of Health, re: National School Food Program, November 19, 2015 (EN)
- Letter to the Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of Health, re: Aboriginal Food Security in Northern Canada, May 6, 2014 (EN); Reply from the Honourable Rona Ambrose, July 15, 2014 (EN)
- Letter to the Honourable Gerry Ritz, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-food, re: Bill C-18 Agriculture Growth Act, May 7 2014 (EN / FR); Reply from the Honourable Gerry Ritz (EN); Reply from Mark Eyking, Member of Parliament Sydney-Victoria (EN)
- Letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, re: Food in the Speech from the Throne, October 9, 2013 (EN); Reply from the Honourable Gerry Ritz, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-food, December 18, 2013 (EN)
- Letter to MP Thomas Mulcair, NDP, re: Food in the Speech from the Throne, October 9, 2013 (EN / FR)
- Letter to MP Elizabeth May, Leader of the Green Party, re: Food in the Speech from the Throne, October 9, 2013 (EN)
- Letter to MP Justin Trudeau, Leader of the Liberal Party, re: Food in the Speech from the Throne, October 9, 2013 (EN / FR)
- Letter to MP Daniel Paillé, Leader of the Bloc Québécois, re: Food in the Speech from the Throne, October 9, 2013 (EN / FR)
- Open Letter to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), re: the definition of 'local', September 18, 2013 (EN); Reply from Dr. B.A. (Bruce) Archibald, CFIA President, October 16, 2013 (EN)
- Letter to the Honourable John Baird, Minister of Foreign Affairs, re: 2012 UN Mission to Canada on the Right to Food, February 7, 2013 (EN); Reply from the Honourable John Baird, March 8, 2013 (EN)
- Letter to the Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of Environment, re: 2012 UN Mission to Canada on the Right to Food, February 7, 2013 (EN); Reply from the Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, March 8, 2013 (EN)
