Hon. Robert Black: Honourable senators, I have risen on a number of occasions in this chamber and in the Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry to speak on the importance of soil health.

Today, I would like to highlight the United Nations World Soil Day, which takes place every year on December 5. This year’s theme — Soils: where food begins — aims to raise awareness about the importance of maintaining healthy ecosystems and human well-being by addressing the growing challenges in soil management, increasing soil awareness and encouraging societies to improve soil health.

I am proud to share that the Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry is currently undertaking a soil study to review the health of Canada’s soils and its impacts on our country. In fact, just this morning, members of the committee travelled to the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum to get our hands dirty and to learn more about Canada’s soils, as well as conservation and protection practices. While this study is still in its early days, I am sure that we will have the opportunity to investigate how food begins with our soils.

As a long-standing member of Ontario’s agricultural community, I know just how important healthy, arable soil is to our farmland and our food system. However, it is concerning to think that Ontario is losing 319 acres of farmland every day.

At this time, I would like to acknowledge the Ontario Federation of Agriculture’s Home Grown campaign in that regard. It is high time that we work together to protect local farms from being lost to urban sprawl.

Honourable colleagues, when we lose farmland, we lose the food that would have been cultivated there as well. That loss directly contributes to our ability to maintain strong and stable food supply chains. While it is clear that food security is an issue around the world, it is also an issue here at home.

I’m sad to share that a poll conducted by Food Banks Canada found that one in five Canadians reported going hungry at least once between March 2020 and March 2022, and almost a quarter of Canadians reported eating less than they should have due to rising prices. As a leader in agriculture on a global scale, we must prioritize ending food insecurity in Canada and around the world. To achieve that, we will also need to prioritize our agricultural industry and ensure that our soils are healthy enough to feed the world for generations to come.

This World Soil Day, I encourage you to take the time to learn more about the ways in which Canada can conserve and protect its soils and reflect on the ways in which healthy soils in Canada are linked to a strong food supply system. We must acknowledge that protecting our healthy soils also means protecting all the benefits that come with it, like healthy ecosystems, improved water quality and reduced greenhouse gases.

I am certain that this is something we can all “dig” into on this upcoming World Soil Day and beyond. Thank you. Meegwetch.

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