Question Period Note: A FOOD POLICY FOR CANADA

R.1 - The Government of Canada is working to ensure all people in Canada have access to safe, nutritious, and culturally appropriate food.

Budget 2024 announced key investments to strengthen food security in communities throughout Canada, such as $62.9 million in renewed investments for the Local Food Infrastructure Fund and $1 billion for a National School Food Program.

Through the Food Policy for Canada, the Government will continue to ensure diverse perspectives are at the table, and coordinated actions are taken to address critical challenges facing Canada’s food systems.

Launched in 2019, the Food Policy for Canada seeks to create healthier and more sustainable food systems in Canada, building on the Government’s ambitious agenda to support the growth of Canada’s farmers and food businesses. The Food Policy brings a coordinated approach to dealing with food issues in Canada by strengthening linkages across federal initiatives that affect food. During Food Policy consultations in 2017, food security, and food loss and waste were identified as priorities that required greater government attention.

Budget 2024 included key investments to strengthen Canada’s food systems and make progress toward the Food Policy for Canada’s vision to ensure access to safe, nutritious, and culturally diverse food. These investments included $62.9 million over three years to strengthen local food security (Local Food Infrastructure Fund), $42.8 million to strengthen access to culturally important foods (Northern Isolated Community Initiatives Fund, Canadian Shellfish Sanitation Program and implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act).

Local Food Infrastructure Fund

Budget 2024 announced $62.9 million over three years, starting in 2024-25, to renew and expand the Local Food Infrastructure Fund (LFIF) to support community organizations across Canada to invest in local food infrastructure. Priority will be given to Indigenous and Black communities, along with other equity-deserving groups. Part of the expansion will support community organizations to improve infrastructure for school food programs as a complement to the National School Food Program.

Under the first Food Policy, the Government of Canada invested $50 million over five years (2019-2024) with an additional $20 million in top-ups in the LFIF through Budget 2021 and Budget 2023. Since 2019, approximately 1,110 projects were funded through LFIF over five intake periods, representing $65 million in AAFC funding. Projects ranged in funding size from $5,000 to $500,000 and spanned across all provinces and territories. For example, projects included community gardens and greenhouses for the local production of food, walk-in refrigerators and freezers for additional storage of food, and refrigerated vehicles for transportation and distribution of food.

Northern Isolated Community Initiatives Fund

Budget 2024 provided $14.9 million over three years, starting in 2024-25, to renew and expand the Northern Isolated Community Initiatives Fund to all regions of Inuit Nunangat to support local and Indigenous food production systems, including innovative northern food businesses, which contribute to food security in the North.

Under the first Food Policy, the Government of Canada invested $15 million over five years in the Northern Isolated Community Initiatives Fund led by the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency. A previous project included $400,000 to help revitalize the Mackenzie Delta reindeer herd so that it may one day provide a sustainable source of protein to all Inuvialuit.

Canadian Shellfish Sanitation Program

Budget 2024 provided $25.1 million over two years, starting in 2024-25, on a cash basis, to expand the Canadian Shellfish Sanitation Program led by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. The funding will assist Indigenous communities to safely access shellfish harvest for food, as well as social and ceremonial purposes.

This funding will address ongoing resource pressures to deliver monitoring services in certain areas, especially Indigenous communities in remote locations. This funding could mitigate an infringement on Indigenous rights to harvest, as well as support federal government commitments towards Reconciliation and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act.

Implementing the UNDA Action Plan Measures

Budget 2024 provided $2.8 million over three years, starting in 2024-25, to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (UNDA) Action Plan Measures. This will bolster the policy and engagement capacity among Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and Inuit Treaty Organizations to co-develop legislative and policy options to facilitate the production, sale, and trade of traditional and country food.

National School Food Policy

Launched in June 2024, the National School Food Policy articulates the federal government's long-term vision for school food programs in Canada. It lays a foundation for a future where all children can have access to nutritious school meals that help them grow and reach their full potential through a set of principles and key objectives which outline how the principles can be put into action.

This fulfills a commitment first put forward in Budget 2019 as part of the Food Policy for Canada to work with provinces and territories towards the creation of a National School Food Program. It also fulfills the December 2021 mandate letter commitment for the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food to work with the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development and with provinces, territories, municipalities, Indigenous partners and stakeholders to develop a National School Food Policy and to work toward a national nutritious school meal program.

National School Food Program

Budget 2024 announced the creation of a National School Food Program, which will provide $1 billion over five years to Employment and Social Development Canada, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, and Indigenous Services Canada, starting in 2024-25, to work with provinces, territories, and Indigenous partners to expand access to school food programs. This included investments for First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities as well as Self-Governing and Modern Treaty Partners, many of whom have some of the highest rates of food insecurity in Canada.

Through Budget 2024, the government proposes to provide a statutory appropriation authority in the Budget Implementation Act that would enable the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development to sign bilateral agreements and transfer funding to provinces and territories to support National School Food programming.

Food Loss and Waste

Food loss and waste is a complex, dynamic challenge facing global food systems, including in Canada. Food loss occurs at the earlier parts of the food supply chain, including production, processing, transport and distribution. Food waste occurs at the consumption stages, including retail, food services, institutions and households. The term “food waste” is often used to refer to food loss and food waste collectively.

The UN estimates that 14% of total global food production is lost between harvest and distribution, and 17% is wasted in retail, food service and households.

In Canada, it is estimated that more than half of Canada’s food supply is lost or wasted annually, and nearly $50 billion worth of food that is disposed of could be avoided each year.

Food waste represents the single largest percentage (23%) of Canadian municipal solid waste disposed.

There are a multitude of reasons that food loss and waste is generated throughout the food system, including lack of awareness and quantification, operational inefficiencies, relationships among supply chain partners, quality standards, inadequate transportation and storage, inaccurate forecasting and inventory management.

Where prevention is not feasible, there are missed economic and social opportunities when food, as a resource, is discarded, as well as environmental consequences such as landfill methane emissions.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Approach to Reducing Food Loss and Waste

The department works with other federal departments and stakeholders across the country to identify effective solutions for reducing food loss and food waste.

Since 2019, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has implemented:

Food Waste Reduction Challenge

The Challenge, which ran from November 2020 to March 2024, delivered high-impact solutions to food loss and waste in Canada with a stage-gated approach to support applicants through the innovation development cycle. The Challenge was divided into two categories, the Business Models Streams and the Novel Technologies Streams.

Business Model Streams

The Business Models Streams (Streams A & B) supported innovators with business model solutions that prevented or diverted food loss and waste at any point from farm to plate.

In Stage One, 24 semi-finalists were selected to receive a $100,000 prize to continue developing their innovations.

In Stage Two, 12 finalists received $400,000 to test their solution with at least one Canadian implementation partner and evaluate the effectiveness of their solution.

On March 20, 2024, the Business Models Streams grand prize winners were announced: LOOP Mission and Still Good each received a grand prize of $1,500,000 to scale their solutions.

LOOP Mission creates beverages from fruits and vegetables that would otherwise go to waste.

Still Good develops business solutions for companies to transform nutrient-rich by-products that would otherwise go to waste into new food products.

Novel Technologies Streams

The Novel Technologies Streams (Streams C & D) of the Food Waste Reduction Challenge focused on novel technologies that could extend the life of food or transform food waste into new foods or value-added products.

In Stage One, 18 semi-finalists received $100,000 and moved on to build or complete an existing prototype of their technology.

In Stage Two, six finalists received $450,000 each and moved on to the final stage of the Challenge where they tested their prototype in an operational environment with at least one implementation partner.

On May 14, 2024, the Novel Technologies Streams grand prize winners were announced: Genecis Bioindustries Inc. and Clean Works Inc. Each received a grand prize of $1,000,000 to scale their solutions.

Genecis Bioindustries has developed a specialized bacteria that transforms food waste into compostable bioplastics.

Clean Works has developed a solution that uses hydrogen peroxide, ozone and UV to control mildew and micro-organism growth in pre-harvest (greenhouses, field crops, grapevines) fruit and vegetables.

A key outstanding commitment includes the development of a Food Loss and Waste Reduction Action Plan by the end of 2025 as agreed to by Canada at the 2023 North American Leaders’ Summit and the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food’s mandate letter commitment to launch a No-Waste Food Fund. AAFC is committed to developing a Food Loss and Waste Reduction Action Plan building on positive achievements across the sector and launching a No-Waste Food Fund to help all players along the food supply chain adopt new ways to eliminate, reduce, or repurpose food waste.

The Government of Canada is working to ensure all people in Canada have access to safe, nutritious, and culturally appropriate food.

Budget 2024 announced key investments to strengthen food security in communities throughout Canada, such as $62.9 million in renewed investments for the Local Food Infrastructure Fund and $1 billion for a National School Food Program.

Through the Food Policy for Canada, the Government will continue to ensure diverse perspectives are at the table, and coordinated actions are taken to address critical challenges facing Canada’s food systems.