44th Parl. 1st Sess.
November 23, 2022
- 04:38:26 p.m.
- Watch
- Read Aloud
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
It's great to be at the agriculture committee. It's certainly a bit of a change of scenery sitting at this end of the table, but it's great to be here and great to be an associate member of this committee. I have subbed in a few times, but I have not yet had the honour and privilege of sitting on this committee as a permanent member, despite coming from what I argue is the greatest agriculture riding in the country—
Voices: Oh, oh!
Mr. John Nater: —with the most dairy farmers in the country, the most chicken farmers in the country, the most pork producers in the province, in the top three or four for beef producers, and some of the most fertile farmland literally anywhere in the world. It is an honour to be here.
First of all, I want to thank my dear colleague Senator Black for first introducing this bill in the other place and for his initiative and long-time advocacy of agriculture and the agri-food system.
Of course, this bill didn't initiate with either of us, really. We as politicians are pushing forward the legacy of someone else. As the Senator mentioned in his statement, Food Day Canada is the legacy of the late Anita Stewart.
Most of my words here today are not my words. They are words from the Stewart family. They are from her four sons—Jeff, Brad, Mark and Paul Stewart—who wrote to me and wanted me to express words on their behalf on the importance of Food Day Canada.
These are their words:
To us, Anita Stewart's four sons, growing up in a family surrounded by food and culture, we saw and learned many things about Canadian cuisine. We got to learn about how sharing food builds togetherness and connection. We got to see how food changes lives and creates community around a kitchen, around a table, or at a backyard barbeque. We met people who worked tirelessly to grow, harvest and produce food supporting their families and country. We got to see how food can brighten a day just by being delicious.
Mom was a central figure of our family but simultaneously also for our nation. It was Eve Johnson, a respected Canadian food journalist who said, “If there was a patron saint of Canadian cuisine, it is Anita Stewart.” According to the National Post, “Anita Stewart is the wonder woman of Canadian cuisine.” It is our dream—Mom's dream—to have at least one day nationally when it is impossible to ignore the culinary, agriculture and cultural-food contributions that sustain and enrich our lives in our bountiful north.
In Mom's own words, “By being attentive to our food sources, not only do we keep the cash flowing for our producers, but we also enable them to maintain and nurture diversity, creating a fabulous edible shopping list for us now and, even more important, for future generations. [It is] about pride and tenacity, and it is about the pure sensual pleasure of tasting the richness of Canada on every level.” That is an excerpt from Anita Stewart's Canada, HarperCollins Publishers 2014.
Food Day Canada was created as an incredible tribute to Canadian ingredients and celebration of the good people feeding our nation. In the ensuing years, Food Day Canada has evolved into a unique, award-winning, proactive, positive event in Canadian food and farming that provides an opportunity to engage Canadians in a celebration of who we are as a nation.
Since its humble start, Food Day Canada has grown exponentially and become a respected force for good in the food life of Canada. We are innovators, educators and trendsetters. Hundreds of chefs from across the nation are our advocates. We are restauranteurs who are on the vanguard of Canadian culinary excellence and represented by a group of active volunteers. As chefs, restaurants, academics, producers, events, farmers, organizations, media and enthusiastic foodies from across Canada, we care deeply about Canadian regional cuisine.
Canadian cuisine is a food of 'possibilities... It is regional and seasonal, with a dash of our multi-cultural histories thrown in for good measure to create a nation of food stories. Coast to coast to coast we have so many unique authentic culinary possibilities!
The food life of a nation expresses its collective culture as much as any newspaper or television programme or splashy new building. The privilege of being a citizen in this nation producing and harvesting some of the finest ingredients on earth goes hand in hand with the challenge and responsibility to build a dynamic, real food culture then celebrating it.
We believe in using Canadian ingredients while we celebrate and recognize those who feed and nourish our nation. Support the research and education of Canada's food, agriculture, and culture and believe in our diversity reflecting traditions, history and our evolving nature.
Canada is a diverse and geographically disparate nation from all coasts. Although we are bound by geography and community ties, we are separated by distance. Food Day Canada, through its presences both virtually and in-person brings people together to celebrate. We share messages about the importance of supporting Canadians while creating multiple local and regional celebrations.
Food Day Canada's call to action is a pledge to shop, cook and dine Canadian. Participants shop locally at restaurants, businesses, and farms, or cook at home, or cottage or campsite to build community by sharing their table, while sharing positive messages of delicious celebrations and gratitude.
Our hope is having the day nationally established may help create widespread opportunities for Canadians to learn about the agriculture and agri-food system while we deepen our conversations about food and celebrate our northern bounty while remembering what is most important to us all: family, friends, community and food!
Jeff, Brad, Mark and Paul conclude with the words of their mother: “So, join the party! Head to a market, buy local, go home, and cook with the rhythms of the seasons. Be true to your own culinary story. It's really that simple.”
I thank Jeff, Brad, Mark and Paul Stewart for allowing me to share their words in the promotion of the legacy of their late mother and the establishment of Food Day Canada.
Colleagues, I thank you for your time this morning, and I hope we can find support to move Bill S-227 forward.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
1096 words
All Tags
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- 04:49:21 p.m.
- Watch
- Read Aloud
Maybe I can address the second part of the question.
What do we want to see from it? I think there are a lot of things that we can see from it. One of the biggest is food literacy, so that Canadians know where Canadian food comes from. It doesn't come from a grocery store shelf. It comes from hard-working farmers and farm families and processors across the country who do this work.
We've seen with Food Day Canada in the last few years a lot of visual representations. The CN Tower was lit in red and white, Niagara Falls was lit in red and white and the Calgary Tower was lit in red and white to promote Canadian food on Food Day Canada. The visual representations forced Canadians to see it and then ask the questions about where things went with it.
I want to highlight as well the BSE crisis. That's something that was exceptionally negative and challenging. Frankly, it's still being felt nearly 20 years later by beef farmers across Canada. They're still feeling the effects of it all these years later, but something positive came, and that was the promotion of Canadian food. If we can build on that legacy that came out of the dark days of 2003, and now, nearly 20 years later, be able to promote the food that sustains our country and the world, I think it will be a great and lasting legacy out of a dark day.
253 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- 04:52:52 p.m.
- Watch
- Read Aloud
To build on what Senator Black said, I think it's the sheer ability to share a meal and break bread with those around you. Whether it's with a family member, whether it's with a neighbour, whether it's at a community gathering or whether it's with a complete stranger, I think that ability to share a meal together and bond over that shared experience is so important.
One of the events I like to attend every year in my riding is a meal called “To Stratford With Love”. Every year, just before Christmas, 1,800 people come together and share a meal. It's like a large family dinner. You come together and share a meal together. You get to know people you frankly have never met before. To everyone in that room, you're all neighbours. You're all family. You're all coming together.
I think the ability to share that bond over a meal is so important. Frankly, sometimes we've lost that in recent times, especially with the challenges from the pandemic over the last two years. The ability to come and share a meal together is so important.
Thank you for that question, Mr. Drouin.
206 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- 04:55:47 p.m.
- Watch
- Read Aloud
I'll start, and I'm sure Senator Black would like to chime in as well.
Just two seconds ago we talked about.... She was the University of Guelph's first food laureate. The food lab at the University of Guelph is now named in her honour, which I think is simply exceptional.
The focus on Canadian food and local food is absolutely essential and a core of what Food Day in Canada would be, building on the legacy of Anita Stewart.
If you read some of the stories about Anita, you'll see she took great joy in travelling the country and experiencing unique, culturally appropriate, different regional food sources first-hand. I think that's one of the exciting celebrations of this. Local food is different for people in different regions and in different cultures. Experiencing that angle is just so important.
Second, on the local and environmental side of things, especially coming from rural ridings and rural communities like ours, it's just so important that we see that in our own backyard.
Organizations like Food Centres Canada and The Local Community Food Centre in Stratford provide that local dynamic. They provide the ability to learn how to use local ingredients to go beyond simply providing a meal to actually knowing what goes into that meal, how it's prepared and where that food comes from.
I'll turn it over to the senator.
237 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- 04:59:57 p.m.
- Watch
- Read Aloud
That's a good question.
In English, the name of the day reflects how Ms. Stewart had baptized it when it was established in 2003 as Food Day Canada. In French, it's Journée canadienne de l'alimentation.
The intent is to promote local food. We are really talking about food found in our respective communities.
59 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- 05:03:55 p.m.
- Watch
- Read Aloud
I would add that it's important to establish partnerships.
10 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- 05:05:52 p.m.
- Watch
- Read Aloud
Absolutely, Mr. MacGregor. Thank you again for your speech in favour of this bill at second reading. It's much appreciated.
Certainly, you're absolutely right. A lot of the unique richness of indigenous culture does relate to some of the unique foods and the culturally appropriate food that comes from different parts of the country, most notably, in your case, the ocean. Perth—Wellington is very poor salmon fishing. I'll make note of that.
Part of the joy of this bill is that we can celebrate all aspects of where food comes from, whether it's land, sea or any part of the country. You know the legacy of Anita Stewart and some of the work that she has done. It touched on some of the indigenous cultures and indigenous food preparation and sources of food that we've seen throughout the country. I think this is a special opportunity to look at that unique richness of culture. I'm sure some of us around the table may be somewhat jealous sometimes of your Mediterranean climate. I think that gives an opportunity to celebrate that as well.
190 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- 05:10:42 p.m.
- Watch
- Read Aloud
Thank you very much, Mr. Lehoux.
It is in fact very important to have partnerships with industry, restaurants, people who produce food for us every day, farmers, producers and processors. These partnerships can provide us with information about the various aspects of food in every part of our country.
You mentioned food insecurity. And yet, our country is extremely well endowed in terms of agriculture.
It's unfortunate that we as Canadians, with such a rich country, still see food insecurity in our country.
Building these partnerships, building the ability to promote and focus on local food, building the skill set in different avenues and in different ways to ensure that we have that ability to feed the country with healthy, nutritious local food, are things that we as a country will be able to promote using this day.
140 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- 05:16:11 p.m.
- Watch
- Read Aloud
Absolutely. That's a wonderful point to make.
Not everyone is going to live in an agricultural riding. There are not a lot of large agriculture-based farms in your riding, or Whitby, Aurora or Richmond Hill, but certainly we all eat. Where that food comes from and the different knowledge that comes with that food.... It's the ability to work with the restaurants, community groups and organizations to promote unique food options that come from Canada and the bounty that is our country.
We are one of the greatest agriculture-producing nations in the world. In whatever way we can celebrate that, whether it's rural, urban or suburban—you name it—all of our country can come together and focus on this day.
That's a wonderful point.
133 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- menumenu
- notificationsnotifications
- home
- mailmail
- searchsearch
