The Canadian election cycle is a lot shorter compared to the United States. The election period started on September 11, a mere 40 days away from the election on October 21. Regular readers know we love when politicians actually talk food policy. The United States doesn't talk much but says a lot with laissez-faire food regulation and policy.
The Canadian election cycle won't produce a whole lot of conversation, but let's find out what they should be discussing.
Conservative Party leader Andrew Scheer attacked the new Canada Food Guide in July. Scheer claimed the newest version “seems to be ideologically driven by people who have a philosophical perspective.” His basic concern was that water replaced milk as a "beverage of choice."
Scheer made the attack while speaking to a group of dairy farmers.
"The Canada Food Guide is based on evidence, based on science, based on research," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in response to the Scheer attack. "It is there to serve Canadian families. It has nothing to do with politics."
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That passes for a food policy discussion in North America. The idea is that politics really shouldn't go into a national food guide. That would arguing that more Canadians should eat poutine to use up Quebec cheese curds.
The supply management element of dairy production is a third-rail topic in Canadian politics. Maxime Bernier, the leader and only member of the right-wing People's Party of Canada, wants to get rid of supply management for the dairy industry in Canada.
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Eat Think Vote from Food Secure Canada worked during the 2015 Canada election to help change the Canadian food system. The organization is working in individual ridings as well in 2019.
In a recent example, Eat Think Vote hosted a talk with the candidates in the Halifax riding (Nova Scotia) at the Halifax Brewery Market on a Saturday morning.
Liberal candidate Andy Fillmore (incumbent) and Green Party candidate Jo-Ann Roberts were at the event while Conservative candidate Bruce Holland and NDP candidate Christine Saulnier did not attend the event.
Backbenchers (not the prime minister or in cabinet) don't usually have too much power in the Canadian parliamentary system. Getting a backbencher to be aware of an issue, such as food policy, is helpful. Who knows, maybe backbenchers helped get the new Canada Food Guide off the ground.
CBC News introduced a new Face to Face segment where 5 undecided Canadians get 5 minutes to talk to the major party leaders.
Green Party leader Elizabeth May drew a couple of people who brought up food in terms of climate change.
Danny Ottenbreit, 35, is a 4th-generation grain farmer in Saskatchewan. Danny talked a lot about agriculture needs to be involved in climate change, how Canada has huge forests and farmlands. He was clearly nervous and didn't have any specifics.
May helped out by talking about soil quality to keep carbon in the ground. That is better for the nutrition of the crops and better since the carbon isn't being released into the atmosphere.
May spoke of the concern for "carbon miles of our groceries" and how more food grown in Canada should stay in Canada. She cited local gardens, rooftop gardens, and self-sufficiency of agriculture.
As a negative example, May pointed out a package of wild British Columbia smoked salmon. The label said product of Canada but processed and packaged in the People's Republic of China. May spoke of the carbon footprint of processing so far away.
May noted that some of that self-sufficiency involves more milling of flour, presumably from Danny's grains. She says farmers are most at risk for climate change.
Think food prices are high? Try the northern territories of Canada
BalanceofFood.com farmers market coverage
May reinforced the small local backyard gardens as well as more geothermal energy to heat more greenhouses in the north in a conversation with Shirley Frost, a 62-year-old mother and grandmother from Whitehorse, Yukon. She noted that the food prices in the north are a scandal, a real problem. We have written on this topic in the past.
Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau had an undecided voter bring up supply management for the dairy industry. Trudeau promised there would be no more concessions on supply management in further trade talks.
Food topics did not come up in the segments with other leaders.
(You can find Danny's segment at 9:45 in the video; Shirley's segment at 16:30 in the video.)
Canadian Senate suggests food policy changes U.S. should copy
Economic insecurity isn't exclusive to the United States. Canada has had a great economy by the national numbers. On the ground, credit card debt, soaring housing costs, and tariffs from south of the 49th parallel add up to insecurity.
The territories in the Canadian Arctic suffer greatly from food insecurity and availability on a whole different level. Most food is shipped north by airplane leading to severely inflated prices.
Nutrition North Canada is a federal program designed to subsidize the costs to make food more affordable. The criticism is that the money goes to the stores and not the people who need the help.
One intriguing twist came up in an edition of The House from CBC Radio One about a year ago. Some people were using Amazon Prime to get non-perishable food sent to the North. Customers could get free shipping for the $80/year membership fee.
An example given in the podcast was a 340g can of diced tomatoes. The can would cost $8.69-$8.89 in the stores in the north vs. $1.89 by delivery.
Fixes to Nutrition North have been a struggle. There have been a few stories on greenhouses in that part of the world. The traditional seal hunt isn't as productive since the United States bans the import of anything made from seals.
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Soda taxes aren't a part of the dynamic in Canada. Groceries, including soft drinks, are more expensive in Canada than in the United States.
The regular beverages have glucose-fructose, which is high-fructose corn syrup.
There were a few federal MPs (members of Parliament) in the Liberal caucus in Ontario who were pushing for a soda tax. The proposal ranked 18th out of 19 items on the list of caucus platform priorities.
A draft proposal suggested a 20% tax. The revenue from the new tax would have gone to create a national school lunch program. Canada is the only G-7 country without a national school lunch program.
The federal Green Party is proposing a soda tax in its platform. The Green Party in Manitoba proposed a 20% tax leading up to the provincial election last month. The Greens have made strides in other parts of Canada but didn't win a seat in the provincial election.
BalanceofFood.com Canada food policy coverage
Canada has the official commission debates next week: Monday in English and Thursday in French. The politicians have had a pair of smaller debates in the last few weeks.
The chances of food policy coming up in the debates is as likely as the Toronto Maple Leafs winning the Stanley Cup (streak goes back to 1967). The government in charge does set the tone for policies, including ones that relate to food. The Canada Food Guide is better than it might have been under the previous government.
If you live in Canada, ask questions of the MP candidates in your riding. Hopefully, you will get a significant response.
Get out and vote!!
You can find out more about Canada via our sibling blog, CanadianCrossing.com.
photos credit: Canada Food Guide/Government of Canada; Eat Think Vote/Food Secure Canada
video credit: Face to Face/CBC News
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