The throne speech shook hopes that the Trudeau government will take meaningful action on a rapidly growing problem.
Tuesday’s Speech from the Throne was intended to lay out the Trudeau administration’s plan to, as liberals like to say in their public communications, “to keep moving Canada forward.” But at least one constituency that followed the speech felt a clear lack of progress when the Governor General concluded her speech.
Academics, researchers, and community advocates concerned about rising rates of food insecurity and the rising cost of living were watching closely, hoping the government would promise substantial measures to help the one in seven Canadians now struggling to access. to sufficient amounts of nutritious food. Their hopes had risen after last year’s Speech from the Throne, which showed support for addressing rising rates of food insecurity, strengthening local food supply chains, supporting farmers in building resilience against climate change, and protecting Canadian and migrant workers who play an indispensable role in the food system. .
But as this year’s list of commitments and aspirations unfolded, the disappointment began. Food insecurity was not directly mentioned; the labor shortage in agriculture and the agri-food industry; the impacts of climate change on Canada’s food supply or financial assistance for millions of employed Canadians who are below the poverty line.
The speech pledged that the amount of Canada’s monthly child benefit (CCB) payment would be adjusted for inflation, claiming that it “had already helped lift hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty.” But the investigation of PROOF, an interdisciplinary research group examining food insecurity in Canada, had previously found that the monthly amount of the CCB was not enough to lift hundreds of thousands of households out of food insecurity, the root cause of which is poverty.
“I am appalled by the continuing rhetoric that the CCB is an effective tool for poverty reduction,” said Valerie Tarasuk, who leads the PROOF research team that tracks rates of food insecurity. “There are debates about how many people actually got out of poverty as a result of this benefit, but there is no debate about the fact that we still have a terrible problem of food insecurity and families with children.”
The speech also pledged to “combat hatred and racism with a renewed strategy against racism,” and it is true that food insecurity is a problem that differs between races. Recent research by PROOF and FoodShare Toronto found that black, indigenous and racialized communities are more likely to be food insecure than white Canadians.
“When we think about how we approach solutions [to food insecurity], we don’t just have to think about revenue, ”said Melana Roberts, a member of the board of Food safety in Canada. “We also have to think along lines of racial equity and understand how an anti-racist approach is a fundamental piece to build healthier and more sustainable communities, which were key priorities in the Speech from the Throne.”
Still, without evidence-based income policy solutions, the “food insecurity crisis” will only get worse, Roberts said. “We will not see the significant benefits in commitments around disaggregated data based on race, commitments around an indigenous-led approach to mental health interventions, or the benefits of investing in housing unless Let’s also see an anti-racism and a decolonization lens in all areas. ”
The Throne Speech was heavily peppered with calls to action: action on reconciliation, action on collective health and well-being, action on climate change, action on price increases, and action against systemic racism. But defenders have heard many of those calls before.
“The action would be seen as creating new policy frameworks that would support regenerative food systems or agriculture,” said Dawn Morrison, founder and curator of the Task Force on Indigenous Food Sovereignty, who thought the speech did not address the depth of the social justice issues that lie at the heart of climate action and reconciliation.
Morrison says that viewing climate change through the lens of food is vital, “because the drivers of climate change exist in the food system.”
“We need a new framework for thinking about the food system beyond the colonial narrative of just farming settlers,” Morrison added. “Of course, agriculture feeds a lot of people. But the predominant model of agriculture is having serious impacts on the climate and was designed to favor the top one percent of the corporations that control the food system. “
Nathan Sing writes on topics related to food security and hunger in Canada. Your one-year position at Maclean’s is financed by the Maple Leaf Center for Action on Food Security, in alliance with Community Food Centers of Canada. Email tips and advice to [email protected].
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