Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food

Comité permanent de l'agriculture et de l'agroalimentaire

For immediate release

Ottawa, Wednesday, April 19, 2023 -

Tuesday, April 18, 2023, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food tabled a report in the House of Commons calling on the Government of Canada to take concrete actions to allow Canada to better respond to global food insecurity, notably the rise in extreme hunger resulting from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. This is the Committee’s second substantial report in the 1st Session of the 44th Parliament.

Entitled “Feeding the World: Strengthening Canada’s Capacity to Respond to Global Food Insecurity”, the report considers testimony it heard from 52 witnesses over the course of ten meetings held between 6 June and 16 November 2022.

From 6 to 20 June 2022, the Committee held three meetings to understand the food security needs of Ukraine and the rest of the world and immediate steps Canada could take to support Ukraine’s agricultural sector and strengthen global food security. The Committee’s recommendations that resulted from these meetings have been compiled into a letter sent to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food that is attached to this report.

The report makes 22 new recommendations to the Government of Canada on ways to unleash Canada’s potential to respond to global food demand, including taking measures to address labour shortages, supporting innovation, helping farmers navigate climate change challenges, and improving transportation infrastructure. The report also underlines the importance of supporting local and regional food systems in Canada and recommends that the federal government increase its contribution to the international fight against food insecurity.

The report is available on the committee's web page on the Parliament of Canada website.