Moved second reading of Bill S-230, An Act respecting the development of a national strategy for soil health protection, conservation and enhancement.

He said: Honourable senators, I rise today to speak to Bill S-230, An Act respecting the development of a national strategy for soil health protection, conservation and enhancement, which seeks to address the recommendations of the 2024 Senate soil health report and establish a national strategy to safeguard Canadian soils now and for generations to come.

First and foremost, I would like to thank the former member of Parliament for Cowichan-Malahat-Langford Alistair MacGregor for tabling Bill C-203, An Act respecting soil conservation and soil health, in the other place last parliamentary session. Although the bill did not make it beyond first reading and we weren’t able to study the bill in either chamber, I’m hopeful that Bill S-230 honours his commitment to protecting soil in Canada. Thank you, Alistair, for your dedication to supporting agriculture and rural communities.

Colleagues, as you know, on June 6, 2024, the Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry tabled the report entitled Critical Ground: Why Soil is Essential to Canada’s Economic, Environmental, Human, and Social Health after completing a rigorous 18-month study. The committee consulted 153 witnesses, received 74 briefs and participated in fact-finding missions across the country and internationally to ensure the result would accurately report on the state of Canada’s soil health.

I would like to take a moment to recognize the individuals who supported the Agriculture Committee’s soil study, including some of those who are in this room today. To all the farmers, scientists and researchers who hosted us and informed us of the critical role soil health plays in the well-being of Canadians. To the individuals and organizations who took the time to write and submit briefs that informed our work and provided us guidance on what angles we should explore. To the witnesses who appeared in front of committee and diligently answered our questions. To each of you, thank you for your contributions, your help and your guidance. This report would not have existed without these individuals.

The committee was faced with a plethora of insightful and inspiring information from across the country, and our main conclusion was clear: Canadian soils and soil around the world are at risk. If we do not act now to preserve and protect the soil, we are risking our food sovereignty, food security and the well-being of the environment as well as the health and wellness of all Canadians.

To help illustrate the severity of this issue, I would like to share with you that in 2021, the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations found that 30% of the world’s soils were already degraded. The degradation of soil means that the soil has significantly lost its ability to grow food, hold water and support plants and animals. Soil degradation directly impacts a farmers’ ability to grow crops and raise livestock thereby directly impacting food security. Furthermore, the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations estimates that 90% of the world’s soils will be degraded by 2050 if something is not done. Colleagues, that is 25 years from today. This is something that should keep us all up at night. I know it affects me.

During the committee meetings, we learned about soil pollution and contamination impacting the soil’s ability to produce food, lessening the quality and nutritiousness of the food produced and reducing the soil’s natural ability to act as a buffer against the spread of pollutants and disease. We had the opportunity to speak to farmers and producers who are using sustainable and regenerative methods to preserve the health of soils on their farmland like grazing management, no-till or low-till farming and diversification of crops. We learned about how these practices mitigate climate change, promote cleaner air and water, enhance biodiversity and improve soil health thereby contributing to food security. All this to say that the committee learned about the critical ground under our feet and how this important resource is perishing, but we also heard about how scientists, researchers and farmers are working to rebuild and renew soil across this country and around the world.

The Agriculture Committee’s report made 25 recommendations to the Government of Canada on how to protect and conserve the health of soils. These recommendations highlight the need for action to be taken by the Government of Canada now — and not 25 years from now — and you will note that my bill contains a number of these recommendations.

Bill S-230 calls on the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food to work in collaboration with provinces, territories, Indigenous bodies, various stakeholders and with the ministers of Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Canada and Indigenous Services Canada to develop a national strategy to support and promote efforts to protect, conserve and enhance the health of soil across Canada. It outlines various measures to be included in a national strategy such as policy and legislative measures that recognize the crucial nature of soil health; knowledge improvement measures that promote the analysis and gathering of data on soil health across Canada; education and information measures that encourage the sharing of information within the agricultural community and to our youth; as well as measures to appoint a national advocate for soil health to promote the preservation of soil across this country. I believe these provisions will ensure a complete and fulsome national strategy that will protect our soils and support the safeguarding of Canada’s food sovereignty and food security for generations to come.

Colleagues, I’ve risen on a number of occasions to highlight the importance of Canada’s agriculture sector to the economic prosperity of Canada. It is my opinion that this industry is all too often overlooked and the gap from farm-to-table or from farm-to-fork must be lessened to inform Canadians about how vital our agriculture sector is for the well-being of all Canadians now and into the future.

Colleagues, while the Speech from the Throne mentioned agriculture, it was only in passing, yet all plans outlined in that speech will affect the agriculture industry. I had hoped that the industry would have received more attention on the importance of their contributions to the well-being and prosperity of our country. Alas, an industry that contributed 7% to Canada’s GDP in 2023 — which is more than many other industries contribute — has been left out in the cold.

To quote Kyra Stiles, a nutrient management specialist with the Prince Edward Island Department of Agriculture:

Agriculture and communities are intertwined . . . Healthy soil can lead to better crop growth and higher yields for farmers, and can help contribute to healthier, locally sourced food for Island residents.

We see the truth of this statement through the success of Ms. Styles’ project. The P.E.I. Department of Agriculture has been running a soil quality monitoring project since 1998 to measure and monitor soil quality across the province. This project helps producers across P.E.I. to create and maintain strong and healthy soils. The program uses the data they collect to make recommendations to farmers on cropping and fertilizer options that favour long-term soil health. The collection of data also informs the P.E.I. Department of Agriculture for future programming and initiatives that can best support the industry. This collaborative approach benefits every person involved.

The collection of data helps farmers to be more strategic and sustainable in their practices and it informs the work of the Department of Agriculture, all while providing healthy, nutritious and locally grown foods for Islanders.

More programming across this country that achieves the same goals as the P.E.I. Soil Quality Monitoring Project can improve the agriculture sector and the well-being of Canadians across this country. The collection of data on the conditions of soil combined with collaboration between governments and farmers can and will encourage healthier soils and healthier local foods for Canadians.

In fact, some provinces and territories already collect soil health data, but they face difficulties in sharing this data across the country. Thus, there need to be mechanisms and supports in place to improve information sharing across our country so that we can leverage that data that already exists and that will be generated going forward.

This is why the federal government needs to help facilitate further analysis and data collection related to the status of Canada’s soils across this country.

The gathering and sharing of this data and monitoring indicators on soil health would help to ensure the scientific data needed to help safeguard our soils is shared across all jurisdictions throughout this country. I believe a national strategy on soil health will work to achieve this need.

Honourable colleagues, soil pollution and contamination are more significant issues than Canadians realize, and it’s important that we have the data to track contamination and pollution levels. We heard from Steven Siciliano, professor of soil science at the University of Saskatchewan, who informed us that “There are 20 million contaminated sites across the world.” In Canada alone, we heard that there are 250,000 sites that come from abandoned oil and gas wells.

Healthy soil acts as a sponge by holding and filtering water, and thereby directly influencing the quality of water resources, but soil pollution hinders its ability to filter out pollutants thereby impacting our food, our environment and our human health. If we foster soil health, then we inevitably foster nutritious food, balanced ecosystems and human health.

Further, Canada and Canadians need a better understanding and awareness of how our soil is affected by pollution and contamination. The implementation of a national strategy to protect, conserve and enhance the health of soils needs to include measures to educate and inform Canadians on the importance of soil health and the direct impact it has on our lives.

I have had the privilege to travel around our great country speaking at different conferences, meetings and events about the agriculture and forestry soil study. Through these opportunities, organizations, farmers, producers and even youth from all parts of the country have shared their support of the report, the truth of its findings and the importance of our recommendations. The agriculture community knows that our soils are at risk, but it’s time for us, as parliamentarians, to further support Canadians by protecting our critical ground.

At the organizational level, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture passed a resolution at their annual general meeting in February with significant support in favour of implementing the recommendations set out in the report. Their resolution states:

There is a strong need to act now to maintain and improve soil health in the interests of Canada’s continued sustainable agricultural productivity and competitiveness.

At the municipal level, I had the pleasure of speaking at a recent council meeting of the Township of Amaranth in Dufferin County, Ontario. During that meeting, I spoke about and shared the details of the soil report. After my presentation, and unbeknownst to me when I started, the council members unanimously passed a resolution to “. . . fully support all of the Recommendations included within Critical Ground . . . .”

Additionally, the Township of Wellington North in Ontario has also passed a similar resolution aimed to:

. . . urge the Government of Canada and the Province of Ontario to implement all the recommendations contained within the Report and commit to recognizing a sense of urgency and act accordingly in order to protect and conserve soil as per Recommendation 25.

I have even heard support from our youth leaders from across Canada. At this year’s 4-H Canada Citizenship Congress, I heard from youth aged 16 to 22 about the importance of protecting farmland and the need to stop developing on these lands in order to protect the soil. In their mock debate that took place right in this very chamber, they even passed a resolution to protect agricultural lands.

Furthermore, earlier this month, Senator Simons, the Ontario Federation of Agriculture and I invited our colleagues to attend and watch a one-woman show by Dale Hamilton entitled She Won’t Come in From the Fields.

As attendees will remember, Dale included the Critical Ground report in her performance, highlighting its significance and the need for more widespread understanding of regenerative and sustainable methods to preserve soil health.

These instances do not discount the countless newspaper articles written by and about farmers, explaining their own personal concerns with the lack of attention soil health receives from the Government of Canada as well as the individuals I have met at conferences, banquets, farm shows and farm meetings that share these similar concerns.

Our soils are precious, and I hope that you have been able to understand this through my speech, but soil degradation as well as soil pollution and contamination are not the only problems facing Canadian soils.

Honourable colleagues, during the parliamentary dissolution period, I heard concerns from the agricultural community regarding the commitments and promises made by the federal parties to build infrastructure and more housing that will inevitably affect the health of our soils. And with the government’s plan for a “One Canadian Economy,” there were yet again more concerns raised by the industry: Where will this development take place? How will it affect soil health and soil preservation?

Although I understand the government’s priority to provide affordable housing for Canadian citizens and to build new infrastructure to make Canada one of the strongest economies in the G7, I am concerned that these plans will be fulfilled by developing on prime agricultural farmland — land being used to feed our country and the world — without even considering this ground being removed from production.

Canada does not have an unlimited supply of farmland. We are privileged to have the land we have now that has healthy arable soils that can be used for farming and food production. Once we remove these lands from production to build housing or infrastructure, the productivity of this land is gone.

According to the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, using data from the 2021 Census of Agriculture, Ontario alone is losing 319 acres of farmland every single day.

Colleagues, this is concerning. We cannot focus on development of rural land without considering the potential loss of the ability to grow food and produce fibre and fuels from biomass produced on farmlands with healthy soil. We must take into account the loss of production that comes with development and the depletion of the health of our soils. It is important that we highlight the importance of considering the ground under our feet before we build over it.

To quote a friend, Mr. Mark Reusser, a director on the board of Ontario Federation of Agriculture representing farmers from Waterloo, Dufferin and Wellington counties, he said at a recent Ontario Institute of Agrologists meeting in April of this year:

I am sure that you are familiar with the term “critical minerals”. They have names like disporium, barite, beryllium, bismuth, cesium, cobolt, gallium and so on. The definition of a critical mineral is a resource deemed essential for the economy, and whose supply maybe vulnerable to disruption, impacting national security, and economic stability. Should soils not be at the top of this list of critical minerals?

Mark continued:

Should we lose this non-renewable natural resource by covering it with asphalt and concrete, it is gone forever. However, if we as a nation conserve our soils, look after them and steward them, they become a perpetual resource that has the capacity to produce food forever.

Colleagues, the agriculture community is well aware of the uncertainties our soils are facing, and a national strategy will work towards establishing soil health as a national priority across all sectors and across this country.

This bill aims to address the concerns of the industry and those laid out in the Agriculture Committee soil health study. It will demonstrate to the agriculture sector and to the world that the Government of Canada recognizes the soils’ contribution to Canada’s prosperity, and will help protect our food sovereignty and food security. The international community will take note and many, if they haven’t already, may follow suit.

Some of our international partners have already acknowledged the importance and potential of soil beyond its agricultural benefits. In April of 2024, the Government of New Zealand released a press release that defines soil as a strategic asset and explains its vital role to New Zealand’s economy.

Quoting Natasha Lewis, Deputy Secretary, Strategy Stewardship and Performance at the Ministry for the Environment, from the press release:

Soil is a strategic asset. A lot of our GDP is in the top 15 cm of the ground we walk on.

During the Agriculture and Forestry Committee study, we had the privilege to hear from Penelope Wensley, the former National Soils Advocate in Australia, to learn about the great policy and legislative work happening in Australia. In 2021, the Government of Australia began taking strides to prioritize the protection of soils in their country by publishing a 20-year strategy entitled National Soil Strategy, which outlines how Australia intends to value, manage and improve the quality of their soils for the next 20 years. Their report stressed the importance of soil for the prosperity of Australia. It states:

Australia’s soil is recognised and valued as a key national asset by all stakeholders. It is better understood and sustainably managed, to benefit and secure our environment, economy, food, infrastructure, health, biodiversity, and communities – now and in the future.

To ensure their national strategy’s goals, vision and objectives were achieved, the Government of Australia also developed and published the National Soil Action Plan 2023 to 2028, which outlines various programs and activities that prioritize soil health, empower soil innovation and strengthen soil knowledge capability. This action plan also reiterates the importance of soil, stating, “Soil is a non-renewable resource and a national asset.”

As stewards in the protection, conservation and enhancement of the health of soil, Australia has highlighted their recognition of soil as a strategic national asset for their environmental, economic and social prosperity. It is time for Canada to follow suit and develop and implement a national strategy to protect, conserve and enhance the health of soil, and recognize soil as the strategic national asset that it is.

Canada’s agriculture community — indeed, everyone who eats three times a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year — depends upon the critical ground under our feet. While frequently overlooked, it is foundational to growing the food we eat, supplying the feed for our animals and ensuring a balanced ecosystem.

Although soil is frequently looked at from a food-growing lens, healthy soils can also mitigate climate change, as we heard during our study. As I explained earlier, healthy soil has the potential to remove pollutants from our water and ecosystems while also possessing the ability to mitigate climate change. In fact, the Agriculture and Forestry Committee heard about different sustainable practices that farmers, ranchers and producers use to establish healthier soils while also reducing their carbon footprint.

A national strategy that includes measures to support and encourage farmers and other land users to use beneficial management practices that promote soil health, sustainability, the mitigation of climate change and the preservation of soil across the agriculture sector is needed to help protect, conserve and enhance the health of our soils.

Colleagues, the agriculture and agri-food sectors are resilient innovators, but they continue to be confronted with new challenges and more barriers, including increased farming risks caused by climate change and unpredictable weather patterns; threats of tariffs and interprovincial trade barriers, causing increased costs and complex hurdles; as well as unreliable government supports that are riddled with administrative burdens. There is also little recognition of how our agriculture sector already perseveres to overcome these challenges in order to continue putting food on our tables each day.

Agriculture is foundational to our country’s well-being, and soil health is at the root of this sector. We all need to eat, and we all need healthy soils so that our farmers, producers and ranchers can continue to grow food to feed our country and the world. If we do not take care of our soils now, we are not taking care of our country. We do not want to wake up one day and realize we do not have the soils or the lands we need in order to feed our nation. At our current pace, I am worried we will be faced with this challenge sooner rather than later.

One of the most important clauses in this bill sets out that the national strategy must include measures to recommend the establishment of soil as a strategic national asset. This was the first recommendation in the soil report. As a food sovereign nation, our country has the privilege of producing more food than we can consume. The agriculture and agri-food sectors contribute 7% percent to Canada’s gross domestic product, having generated $150 billion for our economy in 2023.

However, our status and our ability to feed our country are not permanent. We need to take care of the ground that grows our food now if we want to continue having a strong and resilient agricultural sector into the future. We need to establish soil as a strategic national asset and recognize its role as being as vital to our country as the water we drink and the air we breathe.

A national strategy will not only ensure that Canadians are aware of the importance of soil, but it will also ensure the Government of Canada is making strides to protect, conserve and enhance the health of soils so that we can ensure we have enough healthy soil to continue feeding our country and taking care of our environment.

Colleagues, you may be asking yourself if this bill pertains to federal jurisdiction. As I have said before, healthy soil is required for food security, which is a federal responsibility. It is required for the production of fuels from biomass, which is regulated in federal jurisdiction. Approvals for the growth and expansion of large-scale projects crossing interprovincial borders are also a federal responsibility.

We have an important role to play and must ensure the health of our soil is recognized and protected, in collaboration with stakeholders and all levels of government, as I have previously mentioned.

You may also be asking yourself if this bill is respectful of the Canadian Constitution. I can assure you that while working with the Office of the Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel, we discussed this at length to ensure the constitutionality of my bill.

The bill does not contain any appropriation of money. This is not a money bill. It will require departments to work together to gather, collaborate and investigate with all stakeholders, but it does not appropriate federal dollars. In fact, after hearing from 153 witnesses and receiving 74 briefs that I mentioned earlier, and after consulting with the industry after the report was released and also consulting with my colleagues in this august chamber, with our elected officials in the other place and with municipal councils, I can assure you that consultation surrounding the idea of a national strategy to support and promote efforts across Canada to protect, conserve and enhance the health of soil is widely supported and even encouraged.

Honourable colleagues, you know I am and always will be an “AGvocate.” Agriculture will remain my primary focus as long as I serve Canadians in the Red Chamber. Since the tabling of the Agriculture Committee’s soil health report, I have realized the need to also be a “soil AGvocate” to raise awareness of the critical nature of this pressing issue and promote the importance of preserving our soils.

Protecting, conserving and enhancing the health of soil requires a long-term strategy, and the results will not be immediate, but if we act now, we can put the mechanisms in place to ensure that future generations of Canadians will have the land they need to feed our nation for many generations to come.

Alternatively, if we do nothing, the degradation of soil will mean we cannot continue to feed Canadians from coast to coast to coast. We won’t be able to feed our future generations that will be required to sustain growth. We won’t be able to nourish the very people expected to labour, build and expand our country to build the “One Canadian Economy” now and into the future.

I know that sounds grim, but I remind you again that the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has clearly reported that 90% of the world’s soil could become degraded within 25 years. We must act now. We need a national strategy to protect, conserve and enhance the health of our soils. This is something that only through coordination by the federal government, in collaboration with provincial, territorial and municipal governments, as well as with industry and stakeholders, will lead to national results and ensure our food security and the continued production of fibre and fuels.

Colleagues, I hope you will join me in supporting and swiftly passing Bill S-230, An Act respecting the development of a national strategy for soil health protection, conservation and enhancement, so that we can continue feeding our country for years to come.

Thank you, meegwetch.