Honourable senators, I rise today to draw attention to a wonderful Canada-wide education initiative called Agriculture in the Classroom. Agriculture in the Classroom Canada is a charitable organization that delivers education programs and resources related to agriculture to students across the country. They have member organizations in most provinces and, in 2018, reached over 1 million students in schools.

Agriculture in the Classroom aims to share knowledge about agriculture and food in a way that makes it tangible and easy to understand for students of all ages. Their programs are based on curriculum objectives and are inquiry-based, allowing students to get their hands dirty — sometimes literally — and use critical-thinking skills. Connecting agriculture to food lets students clearly see how it affects their daily lives and how agriculture is an important part of our economy and way of life. Among other things, students learn about food safety, how their food is produced and how to make informed choices about food.

Agriculture in the Classroom also provides high school students with information and resources about careers in agriculture. Our youth don’t always think about agriculture when considering their future careers, but there are so many opportunities and different ways to get involved. Working in agriculture doesn’t just mean farming, as we know; there are jobs in business, information technology, science, research, marketing, environmental protection, non-profit work and much more. Working in the agriculture industry can even get you into the Senate of Canada.

I thought today would be a good time to speak about this topic, as we’re almost in March, which is Canadian Agriculture Literacy Month. With spring approaching — not fast enough for my liking, given today — it’s a great time to learn about agriculture and the major effect it has on our everyday lives.

Thank you very much for your attention. Meegwetch.