Hon. Robert Black: Honourable senators, I have risen on a number of occasions in this chamber and in the Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry to speak on the importance of soil health.

Today, I would like to highlight the United Nations World Soil Day, which takes place every year on December 5. This year’s theme — Soils: where food begins — aims to raise awareness about the importance of maintaining healthy ecosystems and human well-being by addressing the growing challenges in soil management, increasing soil awareness and encouraging societies to improve soil health.

I am proud to share that the Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry is currently undertaking a soil study to review the health of Canada’s soils and its impacts on our country. In fact, just this morning, members of the committee travelled to the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum to get our hands dirty and to learn more about Canada’s soils, as well as conservation and protection practices. While this study is still in its early days, I am sure that we will have the opportunity to investigate how food begins with our soils.

As a long-standing member of Ontario’s agricultural community, I know just how important healthy, arable soil is to our farmland and our food system. However, it is concerning to think that Ontario is losing 319 acres of farmland every day.

At this time, I would like to acknowledge the Ontario Federation of Agriculture’s Home Grown campaign in that regard. It is high time that we work together to protect local farms from being lost to urban sprawl.

Honourable colleagues, when we lose farmland, we lose the food that would have been cultivated there as well. That loss directly contributes to our ability to maintain strong and stable food supply chains. While it is clear that food security is an issue around the world, it is also an issue here at home.

I’m sad to share that a poll conducted by Food Banks Canada found that one in five Canadians reported going hungry at least once between March 2020 and March 2022, and almost a quarter of Canadians reported eating less than they should have due to rising prices. As a leader in agriculture on a global scale, we must prioritize ending food insecurity in Canada and around the world. To achieve that, we will also need to prioritize our agricultural industry and ensure that our soils are healthy enough to feed the world for generations to come.

This World Soil Day, I encourage you to take the time to learn more about the ways in which Canada can conserve and protect its soils and reflect on the ways in which healthy soils in Canada are linked to a strong food supply system. We must acknowledge that protecting our healthy soils also means protecting all the benefits that come with it, like healthy ecosystems, improved water quality and reduced greenhouse gases.

I am certain that this is something we can all “dig” into on this upcoming World Soil Day and beyond. Thank you. Meegwetch.

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Hon. Robert Black: Minister Hutchings, thank you for appearing in the Red Chamber today. We know that mental health challenges affect people of all ages, education, income levels and culture. In any given year, one in five Canadians will personally experience a mental health problem or illness.

We also know that rural communities often have issues accessing many services, including health care. In many cases, mental health-related services and supports in rural communities are less comprehensive, less available and less accessible than in urban areas.

Certainly, I look at issues through an agricultural and rural lens. I would like to take the opportunity to highlight the fact that according to statistics from the Ontario branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association, 68% of farmers are more susceptible than the general population to chronic stress, which can lead to physical and mental illnesses; 58% of farmers meet the classifications for anxiety; and 45% of farmers report high stress.

Many Canadians work in rural and agriculture-adjacent sectors. Minister, can you highlight what steps your government has taken to address the lack of access to mental health services in rural Canada?

Hon. Robert Black: In the last Parliament, I met with representatives for the former minister of infrastructure and communities to discuss the fact that rural communities do not have the same access to public transit as their urban counterparts. In that meeting, I highlighted several initiatives in my home province of Ontario, including Wellington County’s RIDE WELL and Simcoe County’s LINX.

Minister, I think that you will agree that the lack of viable transportation options makes it difficult for youth and adults alike to take advantage of many opportunities. Transportation services are not only imperative for rural communities to thrive, but they also support the mobile labour force. Through your ministerial mandate letter, the Prime Minister asks that you contribute to the development of rural transit solutions.

With that in mind, could you please advise what this government has done and will do to ensure that Canadians living in rural communities have access to reliable and affordable transportation options?