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.
Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Lawrence MacAulay opened the first regional engagement session today in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island (PEI), as part of the ongoing consultations regarding the development A Food Policy for Canada. The Minister was joined by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage and MP for Charlottetown, Sean Casey, and one of Canada’s best-known chefs and PEI food ambassador, Michael Smith.
The session, which includes stakeholders, Indigenous representatives, experts, and key policy makers, is the first in a series being held across the country over the next two months.
Public consultations on A Food Policy for Canada were launched on May 29, 2017, via an online survey. Due to a strong response from across the country, the comment period for the online survey was recently extended to August 31, 2017. A Food Policy Summit also took place in June that brought together over 250 participants with diverse expertise and experience to discuss a broad range of food-related 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.
Source: AAFC