MacAulay and MP McLeod Bring Food Policy Session to Yellowknife

A Food Policy for Canada 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 and Agri-Food, Lawrence MacAulay, along with the Member of Parliament for Northwest Territories, Michael McLeod, participated in a regional engagement session today in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, as part of the ongoing consultations regarding the development of A Food Policy for Canada

“A Food Policy for Canada is an important step for our country,” MacAulay stated. “Nothing affects us more than the food that we eat, which is why consulting with Canadians about what is most important to them about their food is so vital.”

“The Food Policy consultation session in Yellowknife is an opportunity to hear directly from those affected by the specific and unique food challenges in Canada’s North,” McLeod added.

“Access to healthy and affordable food is important to the well-being of families across the country, and is especially challenging in the North”

 

Stakeholders, Indigenous representatives, experts, and key policy makers were invited to join this session, part of a series being held across the country. The sessions began in August in Charlottetown and Saint-Hyacinthe, continuing in September in Vancouver, Yellowknife, and Guelph, and will conclude at the end of the month in Winnipeg.

“We have the opportunity to make policy decisions that can positively impact access to affordable, healthy, and high quality food, while using sustainable practices to feed Canada and the world. We need to make sure we get those decisions right,” MacAulay said.

Public consultations on A Food Policy for Canada were launched on May 29, 2017, with an online survey that asked Canadians for their input on food issues related to:
· increasing access to affordable food;
· improving health and food safety;
· conserving our soil, water, and air; and
· growing more high-quality food.

Response to the survey from across the country was strong, with more than 40,000 responses received before it closed on August 31, 2017.

“Access to healthy and affordable food is important to the well-being of families across the country, and is especially challenging in the North,” McLeod concluded.

To date the Government of Canada has heard from more than 40,000 Canadians through the online survey for A Food Policy for Canada, which closed on August 31, 2017.