BILL NO. 258
(as introduced)
2nd Session, 63rd General Assembly
Nova Scotia
69 Elizabeth II, 2020
Private Member's Bill
Food Security and Self-sufficiency Act
Alana Paon
Cape Breton–Richmond
First Reading: March 10, 2020
Second Reading:
Third Reading:
An Act Respecting Nova Scotia
Food Security and Self-sufficiency
AND WHEREAS local food is a good source of quality, healthy food and a step toward addressing food security;
AND WHEREAS food security and self-sufficiency maximize community self-reliance and social justice;
AND WHEREAS the support and promotion of local food producers is key to food security and self-sufficiency and provides economic benefit to the Province;
AND WHEREAS Nova Scotia needs to improve its food security and self-sufficiency;
THEREFORE be it enacted by the Governor and Assembly as follows:
1 This Act may be cited as the Food Security and Self-sufficiency Act.
2 In this Act,(a) "food producer" includes farmers, fish harvesters and local-food processors;
(b) "Minister" means the Minister of Agriculture;
(c) "publish" means file with the Legislative Library and the public libraries across the Province, including universities, and post on the Government website.
3 (1) Subject to Section 7, the Minister shall research and report on(a) the market share over the past 20 years and current trends and growth prospects for Province-based food producers;
(b) the Province's market share of Province-based food-processing enterprises that purchase food from businesses and food producers not based in the Province;
(c) the likely effects of climate change on the Province and on the goal of food security and self-sufficiency;
(d) existing Government and industry efforts to support and grow the Province's food producers, including
- (i) the impact of those efforts to date,
(iii) the performance metrics used to measure the impact of those efforts and the rationale for using those metrics;
- (i) their cost and growth potential, and
(ii) examples of programs elsewhere and those programs' impacts, performance metrics used and the rationale for using those metrics;
(g) a plan for instituting the performance metrics for the recommended priorities and programs.
(2) The Minister shall table the report prepared pursuant to subsection (1) in the Assembly on or before September 1, 2021, or, where the Assembly is not then sitting, file the report with the Clerk of the Assembly.
(3) The Minister shall publish the report prepared pursuant to subsection (1).
4 Subject to Section 7, the Minister shall update and publish the report prepared pursuant to subsection 3(1) every four years.
5 (1) Subject to Section 7, the Minister shall promote public access to the reports prepared pursuant to subsection 3(1) and Section 4.
(2) The Minister shall publish, identify, explain and justify the key performance metrics and root them in results relative to the Province's food security and self-sufficiency.
6 (1) Subject to Section 7, on or before six months of this Act coming into force, the Minister shall recommend to the Assembly, and publish, a method to measure the percentage of food procured by the Government from local producers, the rationale for this method, supporting and opposing views solicited from stakeholders and why other methods were rejected.
(2) On or before September 1, 2021, the Minister shall report current and potential steps, performance metrics and progress to date for direct local food procurement by the Government.
(3) The Government shall set a goal to procure 30% of its food requirements from local producers by the year 2026.
7 The money required for the purpose of this Act must be paid out of money appropriated for that purpose by the Legislature.
This page and its contents published by the Office of the Legislative Counsel, Nova Scotia House of Assembly, and © 2020 Crown in right of Nova Scotia. Created March 10, 2020. Send comments to legc.office@novascotia.ca.
