Bill C-539

1st Session, 41st Parliament,

60-61-62 Elizabeth II, 2011-2012-2013

house of commons of canada

BILL C-539

An Act to promote local foods

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

SHORT TITLE

1. This Act may be cited as the Promotion of Local Foods Act.

PAN-CANADIAN LOCAL FOODS STRATEGY

2. The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food must, in consultation with his or her provincial counterparts, develop and implement a pan-Canadian local foods strategy that provides for, among other things,

(a) a definition of what constitutes a local food for the purposes of the strategy;

(b) the creation of a forum for sharing information on best practices for the procurement of local foods and on the results of initiatives implemented by the provinces and territories;

(c) measures to raise public awareness of the importance of purchasing local foods; and

(d) coordination of the efforts made by producers and distributors to encourage local purchasing.

3. (1) The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food must, at the end of each fiscal year, prepare a progress report on the pan-Canadian local foods strategy and post it on the web site of his or her Department without delay.

(2) As soon as possible after the strategy is established, the Minister must post it on the web site of his or her Department.

4. The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food must table a copy of the report referred to in subsection 3(1) in each House of Parliament on any of the first 90 days on which that House is sitting after the report is posted on the web site of his or her Department.

LOCAL FOODS PROCUREMENT POLICY

5. (1) The following definitions apply in this section.

“food” has the same meaning as in section 2 of the Food and Drugs Act.

“government institution” means

(a) any department or ministry of state of the Government of Canada, or any body or office, listed in Schedule I to the Access to Information Act; and

(b) any parent Crown corporation, and any wholly owned subsidiary of such a corporation, within the meaning of section 83 of the Financial Administration Act.

(2) The Minister of Public Works and Government Services must develop a local foods procurement policy for government institutions and must implement that policy no later than one year after this Act comes into force.

(3) In the event of an inconsistency or conflict between the pan-Canadian local foods strategy and the procurement policy developed pursuant to subsection (2), the pan-Canadian strategy prevails to the extent of the inconsistency or conflict.

TRANSITIONAL PROVISION

6. Within three months after the coming into force of this Act, the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food must convene a conference of provincial and territorial ministers responsible for agriculture in order to establish a pan-Canadian local foods strategy.