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March 27th, 2014

NDP bill to encourage Canadians to buy locally-grown food

Eating “local” feeds our home-grown economy, and the NDP is asking MPs from all parties to vote for Bill C-539 today, following its second reading in the House of Commons.

“Promoting local agriculture is very important because it helps protect the environment, by reducing the distance food is transported, and it is an investment in our communities. Eating locally means developing our local economies and job markets,” said the Bill’s brainchild Anne Minh-Thu Quach (Beauharnois-Salaberry).

If adopted, C-539 would help create a Canada-wide strategy for buying local food and would establish a local-sourcing policy for all federal institutions. This would help support Canadian farmers, create regional jobs and cut pollution.

“I have had the opportunity to speak with a number of agricultural workers,” said Quach. “Most of them agree that political will is required to maintain a strong, diversified and prosperous agricultural sector. It’s time the federal government made a clear-cut commitment to supporting our local farmers.”

Supporters for Quach’s bill include the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA), the Union des producteurs agricoles (UPA), Équiterre, Farm to Cafeteria Canada and the Conférence régionale des élus de la Vallée-du-Haut-Saint-Laurent.

Link to our online petition: http://anneminhthuquach.ndp.ca/eatlocal/petition