Thank you, Minister Bibeau, for your attendance today.

Several colleagues have spoken about food security. Not all Canadians and North Americans are aware of how the North has become increasingly food secure. The Yukon has several initiatives that are important to note: egg production, locally produced and packaged flour, many locally grown vegetables and, this year, dairy milk that did not come up the Alaska Highway by truck. The increased costs to farmers have been mentioned; these increased costs are much higher in the North. Many Yukoners are prepared to pay higher prices for a local product. However, the significantly higher cost of production is challenging for the farmers when it comes to expanding their markets to the west in Alaska, to the east in the Northwest Territories and even into southern Canada.

Is there any specific assistance that you or your department can elaborate on for me, today, that offers farmers not in the traditional farming areas an opportunity to enhance North America’s food security in the North?

Thank you. There are probably opportunities through my colleague Minister Vandal, the minister responsible for the North, as well as through the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency. What I see under Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada is an initiative that we launched recently that directly targets our northern and remote communities. It’s the last call for proposals under the Local Food Infrastructure Fund.

It’s not for farmers, but it is meant to strengthen the local food system in a region. The idea is to bring partners together, which could include farmers, grocers, food banks and whoever the players in a region’s food system are. The funding could go up to $250,000. This call for proposals is currently open and it targets remote, northern and Indigenous communities.