Hon. Robert Black, Chair of the Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry, presented the following report:

Thursday, June 23, 2022

The Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry has the honour to present its

FIFTH REPORT

Your committee, to which was referred Bill S-236, An Act to amend the Employment Insurance Act and the Employment Insurance Regulations (Prince Edward Island), has, in obedience to the order of reference of June 7, 2022, examined the said bill and now reports the same with the following amendment:

1.New clause 4, page 1: Add the following after line 17:

and with certain observations, which are appended to this report.

Respectfully submitted,

ROBERT BLACK

Chair

(For text of observations, see today’s Journals of the Senate, p. 793.)

Hon. Robert Black: Honourable senators, I rise today to highlight the GFL Eastern Ontario Waste Handling Facility in Moose Creek, Ontario, that I had the opportunity to visit earlier this month with our honourable colleague Senator Bernadette Clement and municipal representatives of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry, as well as Prescott and Russell. With my interest and experience in agriculture, I would like to thank Senator Clement for inviting me to accompany her on the tour and for ensuring there were local farmers present during our visit as well.

Honourable senators, GFL Environmental Inc. is a waste management company that provides environmental services to municipal, residential, commercial, industrial and institutional customers, and employs more than 8,850 people across Canada. In fact, the facility in Moose Creek has grown to service over 500 communities, towns and municipalities in the area.

During our visit, we had the opportunity to learn more about their innovative new green initiative that will reduce their carbon footprint while providing a new, renewable energy source to clients in eastern Ontario. This new initiative aims to produce renewable natural gas and create new green opportunities, in addition to those associated with the existing resource recovery operations such as composting and landfill gas-to-energy programs. This opportunity would also allow for greater reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and be a source of renewable energy generation as part of Ontario’s transition to a low-carbon economy. However, in order for GFL to realize this new initiative, they have been meeting with the federal and provincial governments to look for financial support.

As an “agvocate,” I was excited to learn that GFL and the Township of North Stormont will be teaming up with a third party to bring local agricultural expertise and capital to invest in greenhouse operations to be located at the Moose Creek facility. This initiative would put the Moose Creek facility in a position to provide a low-cost heat source captured from the existing turbines generating electricity and a green substitute for the traditional carbon heat source used now for greenhouses. This is particularly important, as they could then provide a source of local food security for eastern Ontario and the National Capital Region, and reduce dependence on foreign food suppliers while also reducing greenhouse gases through the reduction of long‑haul trucking needs.

At this time, I’d like to thank the team at the GFL Moose Creek facility for allowing Senator Clement and me the opportunity to learn more about their operations. I am truly excited to see what comes next for the Moose Creek facility and for GFL across Canada. The work they are doing, especially with regard to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and supporting our agricultural industry, is critical.

Honourable senators, I’d like to highlight that agricultural organizations, and agriculture-adjacent organizations like GFL, are doing their utmost to support Canada’s targeted emission-reduction strategies. However, it is imperative that we support them as they make their way to being greener, cleaner and more sustainable all while continuing to feed Canadians and the world.

One way you can continue to support them this summer is by shopping locally, whether that is at a nearby farm or farmers’ market. We all enjoy the fruits — or vegetables — of a farmer’s labours, so let’s be sure to acknowledge the hard work that goes into making a strong food supply chain, from seed to store shelves. Thank you. Meegwetch.