FSC Newsletter - 2011-12

GENERAL NEWSLETTER                                                                     21 December, 2011

Dear {contact.first_name} - HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!! Our Annual General Meeting (AGM) took place on Friday, December 16th, and welcomed in a new slate of food leaders as Steering Committee members.  Cathleen Kneen, outgoing chair, gave a report on the year, and Anna Paskal gave an update on the Civil Society Joint Submission to the UN Special Rapporteur's Right to Food Mission in Canada. If you weren't able to make it, you can: read the minutes or the report from the chair, learn more about the new members of our Steering Committee.

Food Secure Canada is Hiring!

We will be hiring two full-time staff early in 2012! This will enable Food Secure Canada to fulfill its mission as the backbone of the dynamic and growing food movement in this country. If you or someone you know might be interested in being part of our dynamic team, you can learn more about the positions on our webiste:

• Executive Director of Food Secure Canada
• Coordinator of Food Secure Canada

The UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food is Coming to Canada

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food will be conducting an official country Mission to Canada in May, 2012. This is his first Mission to an OECD country. The Special Rapporteur has requested input into establishing priority issues for investigation, as well as suggestions for supportive site visits.

Food Secure Canada has been part of a Coordinating Committee facilitating a nation-wide civil society process to propose  priority areas for investigation by the Rapporteur.

The final document is a compilation of over forty submissions received from coast to coast to coast.  Click here to download the submission.

Federal Court rules that the Harper Government broke the law in abolishing the Canadian Wheat Board, but Senate passes legislation anyways.

On December 7^th, the Federal Court declared that Gerry Ritz, the Minister of Agriculture, broke the law when he abolished the CWB without holding a farmer’s plebiscite. Food Secure Canada is one of the organizations to file a lawsuit against the government as an intervener on behalf of public interest. Learn more.

Despite this, the Senate passed legislation on Dec. 15 that effectively strips the CWB of its monopoly. Learn more.

Follow news on this important story through the National Farmers Union or the CWB itself.

Connect with the Canadian Food Movement ...through our calendar of events and by posting your campaign on our website and newsletter. Share and learn from others about northern food security, urban gardening, local procurement and more.     Together we are building a healthy, ecological and fair food system for all - join us!