A National Food Policy

Reflecting these principles, a future Liberal government will implement a National Food Policy beginning with 5 core areas for action:

I. Healthy Living : Health promotion and education

Eating right and having access to healthy, affordable food is one way Canada can prevent disease and foster healthy communities. To promote healthy living and better knowledge of the food we eat, a Liberal National Food Policy will include:

• A new Healthy Choices program to educate Canadians on healthy eating, how the food system works, and how to minimize threats to food safety.
  
• New, progressive labelling regulations that give clear and simple information to Canadians on the nutritional value of the foods they purchase, improves the regulatory process for new health claims,and clarifies Product of Canada labelling.
  
• Introduce strong new regulatory standards on transfats.
  
• $40 million over four years to implement a new federal Healthy Start program to support existing programs helping 250,000 children from low-income families access healthy, home-grown foods,in partnership with the provinces, territories and non-governmental organizations. A Liberal government will also commit to ongoing support for the Canada Prenatal Nutrition Program (CPNP) and Aboriginal Head Start Program (AHSP).
  
• $80 million over four years to create a Buy Local Fund. The Fund will promote high-quality, homegrown foods produced by local farmers and support a Farmers’ Markets Development Program to market and grow Canada’s farmers’ markets, in cooperation with the provinces and territories.

II. Safe Food : Strengthening inspection and enforcement

Canadians expect all foods within Canada to meet the same quality, safety and environmental sustainability standards, regardless of whether that food is produced domestically or internationally. A Liberal government will:

• Undertake a comprehensive review of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), to ensure Canada’s food safety system is effectively coordinated to minimize risks and assure Canadians that the food on their dinner tables is safe.
  
• Invest an additional $50 million over four years to improve food inspection by the CFIA and to ensure the same food safety standards set for Canadian producers are applied to foods imported into Canada.

III. Sustainable Farm Incomes : Supporting innovation and protecting against risk

Sustainable farm incomes, rural infrastructure and research and innovation are keys to ensuring Canada maintains a strong and vibrant food production system. Unfortunately, Canada’s farmers have for many years faced a maze of confusing and unpredictable programs. A Liberal government will work in partnership with Canadian farmers to build farm programs from the farm up, not Ottawa down, through the following commitments:

• A Clean Slate Commitment to undertake a complete review of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada programming in partnership with farmers within the first year of a Liberal government, including business risk management programs, agricultural research, innovation and environmental programs.
  
• A commitment to restore AgriFlex to its original mission of offering regionally flexible programs including practical, bankable business risk management to help farmers meet their costs of production. This could include the Risk Management Program in Ontario, Assurance stabilization des revenues agricoles in Quebec, market price insurance and improved crop insurance in the West,or a Buy Atlantic program in the Atlantic provinces.

IV. Environmental Farmland Stewardship

Canadians know that our farms and our food are tied to our natural environment, and that a clean environmental future means investing in clean energy and farmland stewardship. As part of our Clean Slate Commitment, a Liberal government will:

• Work with Canada’s farmers to strengthen Canada’s Environmental Farm Plans, support improved fertilizer and pesticide management, and introduce new environmental goods and services programs that reward farmers for environmentally-sustainable initiatives such as setting aside land for wildlife habitats or carbon sequestration.
  
• Further, as part of the Liberal commitment to quadruple Canada’s clean energy production, a Liberal government will invest significantly in the development of clean energy from Canadian farms – biomass, wind, solar and geothermal energy.

V. International Leadership : Opening new markets and building capacity

Canada’s future competitiveness and opportunities for export growth rest on expanding our share of high-value markets where our reputation for quality puts us ahead. But we also have a role to play in ensuring that some of the world’s poorest nations – particularly in Africa – have access to safe, healthy food. A Liberal government will:

• Expand export opportunities and build Canada’s international brand as a producer of the highest-quality foods and beverages in the world by strengthening coordination between Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
  
• Work to build capacity in local food production and food security among world’s most vulnerable nations, particularly in Africa, by reassessing the Canadian International Development Agency’s priority nations list, and focus on initiatives such as micro-lending, research, trade-related capacity building, and enhancing agricultural productivity and sustainability.

Click here to View Full Report...

Source : Liberal Party of Canada