Pursuant to notice of April 16, 2024, moved:

That the Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry be authorized to examine and report on the role of the agriculture and agri-food sector in food security in Canada;

That in particular, the committee examine:

(a)the current status of food security in relation to the Food Policy for Canada created by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada;

(b)how the agriculture and agri-food sector could improve food security, in particular in Indigenous and Black communities, and in other rural and urban communities facing challenges with access to food;

(c)the factors that influence food security including agricultural production systems, climate change, corporate concentration in the agri-food sector, among other factors related to agriculture;

(d)the federal measures that are currently in place to address food security issues, especially related to farmers, local food production and food sovereignty; and

(e)the potential areas of improvement of these federal measures to enhance food security;

That the committee report to the Senate no later than December 31, 2025, and that the committee retain all powers necessary to publicize its findings for 180 days after the tabling of the final report; and

That the committee be permitted, notwithstanding usual practices, to deposit reports on this study with the Clerk of the Senate if the Senate is not then sitting, and that the reports be deemed to have been tabled in the Senate.