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Bill C-360

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First Session, Forty-fourth Parliament,

70-71 Elizabeth II – 1-2 Charles III, 2021-2022-2023

HOUSE OF COMMONS OF CANADA

BILL C-360
An Act to establish a national strategy to reduce the amount of wasted food in Canada
FIRST READING, October 26, 2023

Ms. Zarrillo
441196


SUMMARY

This enactment provides for the development of a national strategy to reduce the amount of wasted food in Canada.

Available on the House of Commons website at the following address:
www.ourcommons.ca


1st Session, 44th Parliament,

70-71 Elizabeth II – 1-2 Charles III, 2021-2022-2023

HOUSE OF COMMONS OF CANADA

BILL C-360

An Act to establish a national strategy to reduce the amount of wasted food in Canada

Preamble

Whereas poverty, food insecurity, greenhouse gas emissions and the amount of wasted food are on the rise in Canada;

Whereas food is wasted at every stage of the food system and primarily by manufacturers of processed foods, retailers and consumers, which leads to food insecurity for hundreds of thousands of Canadians;

Whereas wasted food, by increasing carbon dioxide and biomethane emissions, contributes to climate change, which is a global issue that disrupts food security and affects human health both directly and indirectly by raising the rate of starvation, malnourishment and poverty in the developing world;

Whereas Canada’s commitments under the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals include ending hunger, promoting good health, reducing food waste and encouraging sustainable food systems;

Whereas the Government of Canada has demonstrated that it recognizes the importance of food rescue by implementing the Surplus Food Rescue Program, which diverted excess food from waste or disposal in order to address the food needs of vulnerable populations impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic;

And whereas Canada needs a roadmap to address the issue of wasted food — one that builds on the Government of Canada’s ambitious agenda to support the growth of Canada’s farming and food businesses, and on key federal initiatives;

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

Short Title

Short title

1 This Act may be cited as the Wasted Food Reduction and Recovery Act.

Interpretation

Definitions

2 The following definitions apply in this Act.

Indigenous governing body means a council, government or other entity that is authorized to act on behalf of an Indigenous group, community or people that holds rights recognized and affirmed by section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982.‍ (corps dirigeant autochtone)

Minister means the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food.‍ (ministre)

National Strategy

Development

3 (1) The Minister must, in consultation with representatives of the provincial governments responsible for agriculture and agri-food and Indigenous governing bodies, as well as with relevant stakeholders, develop a national strategy to reduce the amount of wasted food in Canada.

Content

(2) The strategy must include measures to

  • (a) raise public awareness of wasted food through a national campaign;

  • (b) put in place the tools needed to allow manufacturers of processed foods, retailers and consumers to reduce wasted food;

  • (c) reduce the environmental impact of unused food resources;

  • (d) facilitate the donation of food products that are fit for human consumption to community organizations and food banks;

  • (e) develop educational literature to be used in schools, such as materials for webinars, seminars and other types of training, to help raise awareness among students and contribute to fostering an eco-conscious society in Canada, as well as to support school food programs;

  • (f) examine alternative food labelling options for certain items that could better guide consumers in their decisions regarding whether those items are still fit for human consumption or not at the time of purchase or consumption;

  • (g) establish national targets for wasted food reduction, food rescue and organic waste diversion;

  • (h) establish reporting requirements for producers, manufacturers, distributors and retailors on the environmental impact of the food they waste, including emissions created as a consequence of their activities;

  • (i) encourage private sector actors to play a leadership role in reducing the amount of food that is wasted, including by contributing to covering the cost of strategies to manage wasted food;

  • (j) provide incentives for Indigenous governing bodies and municipal and provincial governments to share information relating to food donations and food recovery;

  • (k) support food recovery programs and innovation, particularly in rural and Indigenous communities, including initiatives that promote the diversion of food that would otherwise be wasted;

  • (l) assess the feasibility of establishing an intergovernmental and multisectoral plan for composting food that is unfit for human consumption and how it could best support provinces, municipalities, Indigenous communities and relevant stakeholders; and

  • (m) study the impact of wasted food on the different environments in which it ends up, including landfills and oceans.

Reports to Parliament

Tabling of national strategy

4 (1) Within two years after the day on which this Act comes into force, the Minister must prepare a report setting out the national strategy and cause it to be tabled in each House of Parliament on any of the first 15 days on which that House is sitting after it is completed.

Publication

(2) The Minister must publish the report on the website of the Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food within 10 days after the day on which the report is tabled in both Houses of Parliament.

Review

5 (1) Within five years after the day on which the report referred to in subsection 4(1) has been tabled in both Houses of Parliament and every five years after that, the Minister must prepare a report on the effectiveness of the national strategy, setting out the Minister’s conclusions and recommendations, and cause the report to be tabled in each House of Parliament on any of the first 15 days on which that House is sitting after the report is completed.

Publication

(2) The Minister must publish the report on the website of the Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food within 10 days after the day on which the report is tabled in both Houses of Parliament.

Published under authority of the Speaker of the House of Commons

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