Local food bill returns to Queen's Park for third reading

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

by SUSAN MANN

A provincial government local food bill is coming up for third reading next week and possibly a vote by mid November, says Mark Cripps, communications director for the Ontario agriculture ministry.

Premier and Agriculture Minister Kathleen Wynne “is committed to working with all the parties to ensure that the bill is passed,” Cripps says. Currently the bill is in second reading.

On Monday, the Progressive Conservatives issued a press release outlining their proposed amendments to the bill, including making food education for all grades mandatory to increase students’ knowledge of nutrition and where food comes from as well as to improve their cooking skills. Other Conservative amendments call on the government to create a 25 per cent non-refundable tax credit for farmers donating their products to an Ontario food bank, requiring the agriculture minister to set targets for local food and moving Local Food Week to the first week in June from the proposal to have it happen the same week as Ontario Agriculture Week, which is the week just before Thanksgiving in October.

Having Local Food Week during first week in June will kick off the summer local food season and create another opportunity to highlight local food, the press release says.

Cripps says “there has been some great suggestions from the other parties that will only strengthen the bill.” BF