Hon. Rose-May Poirier: Honourable senators, I rise today to speak at second reading on Bill S-227, an Act to establish Food Day in Canada. I thank Senator Black for bringing this initiative forward and for his continued promotion and leadership on rural and agricultural issues.

Supporting local food is crucial for all communities, big or small, across our country. As a senator from rural New Brunswick, I understand the importance of supporting local food products. It strengthens the local economy, strengthens the bond in the community between one another and, as we share local food, it is a very important element of our cultural identity.

Honourable senators, every session, we pass these kinds of bills often to commemorate or promote various causes. As we approach the two-year mark of the COVID pandemic and lockdowns in Canada, the timing is as good as it gets to showcase the importance of local food in our country. In times of need, it was the local food chain which made sure Canadians had options and could have confidence in putting food on their table.

Just last week, I was meeting with the Dairy Farmers of New Brunswick. Dairy farmers collectively donated more than $10 million in dairy products to food banks to support Canadians in need. By talking with their representatives, you easily see they have the well-being of their community at heart. So, for my speech at second reading, I want to share with you different benefits from supporting local food in Canada.

First, local farming projects tend to have an impact beyond economic benefit and providing food to a community. Please allow me to share with you a story from Port Elgin, New Brunswick, a story I am certain we would have heard if our dear now-retired colleague Carolyn Stewart Olsen was still a member of the Senate.

Students from Port Elgin Regional School are learning how to tackle food security in a unique way. They’re learning about food from the seed to the table, using a new specialized winter greenhouse to grow their own vegetables. Through the Brewer Foundation in Fredericton, the hope is for the greenhouse to provide a long-term solution for people in their community dealing with food security. The project is designed to also help students think for themselves while learning valuable skills.

What better way for a local project to teach young kids about the importance of food security, growing healthy food and instilling a sense of community at a young age. It is just another reason why supporting local food is important. They make a direct contribution to our community’s well-being because, as members of our community, they care about it.

Actually, in my provincial riding of Kent North, our MLA, Kevin Arseneau, is a farmer. While providing food for the community, he also serves as the community’s voice on provincial issues. He brings the same passion, work ethic and commitment to his role as MLA.

Another reason to celebrate local food, honourable colleagues, is the cultural impact it has on our identity. There is a passage from Bill S-227 that I really liked, located in the preamble:

And whereas the people of Canada will benefit from a food day in Canada to celebrate local food as one of the most elemental characteristics of all of the cultures that populate this nation . . . .

Wherever you go across the country, it is at the centre of it. From Newfoundland’s fishing communities and tradition of kissing a trout when being ’’screeched in,” as they say, to the potato in P.E.I., maple syrup in Quebec and beef in Alberta, it is a central figure to our identity.

In a country as diverse as ours, food is central in making bonds with new community members. For example, by visiting the local farmers’ market in Moncton, New Brunswick, you will see a variety of food from traditional Acadian cuisines to Korean cuisines to German cuisines, et cetera. These local farmers’ markets are a unique way for new immigrants to integrate into the community and become valued members and contributors.

Hon. Peter Harder: Honourable senators, here is a letter to Igor Shuvalov:

I am writing to you as a friend and former colleague to convey my strong opposition to the offensive actions undertaken by the Russian armed forces in Ukraine. Our work together in the mid-2000s seems far from the aggression, the violation of international law and the destruction visited on Ukraine in recent days. I recall fondly your work as the President’s Personal Representative and lead Sherpa for the St. Petersburg summit of 2006. Our visits to various parts of Russia, our discussions of the important political and economic issues of the day were enriched by your perspectives and experience.

I remember vividly my visit to your office at the time. It had been the office of Leonid Brezhnev in the former building of the Soviet Communist Party. You took delight in showing me the electronic buttons on the side of your desk, a relic of Brezhnev’s time. You pushed a button and the curtains on the side wall opened, another button pushed and down rolled a map of the USSR and a display of where the nuclear war heads of that time were located and then a third button and down rolled a map indicating where Soviet troops were stationed across the Warsaw Pact. We spoke of how this era of Cold War was passed and welcomed Russian participation in the G-8 and other multilateral institutions. You then took me down the hall, just a few steps from your office to a large, oak panelled boardroom with a mammoth rectangular table which could seat several dozen officials. On entering you stated that this was the room where the fateful decision was taken to invade Afghanistan in December of 1979. A decision we agreed, which significantly contributed to the demise of the old Soviet Union ten years later. The occupation not only led to the loss of many lives but imposed economic hardship which could not be justified or sustained. We also spoke of Ukraine. I told you how my parents left Ukraine in 1924 to come to Canada and as to my remaining relatives, Stalin had taken care of them. You spoke fondly of Ukraine and how they were your “cousins”.

Igor, it seems so very long ago. The era of hope has gone. The Cold War tensions have returned. Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine is underway. I don’t know how the coming days will unfold, but I do know that this bloodshed isn’t what one does to cousins.

This is not the time to argue about how we got to this state. There will be a time for that and I’m sure we could both agree that there have been missed opportunities for diplomacy.

What I do know though is that our successors will one day visit the Kremlin, as I did in 2006, and will be shown by then former President Putin’s office and be told that this is where that fateful decision was taken to invade Ukraine with the terrible consequences that have unfolded since. That day may not be soon, but it will surely come.

While you are no longer the First Deputy Prime Minister, I know that your voice continues to be heard, especially on international economic issues. Now as Chairman of State Development Corporation, I urge you to raise your voice to put an end to this invasion of a sovereign country, especially one with the familial and historical relations we both share.

Our children and grandchildren deserve better of us.

Sincerely, Peter

[Translation]

Hon. Frances Lankin: Will the senator take another question, please?

Senator Seidman: Yes, certainly.

The Hon. the Speaker pro tempore: Are senators ready for the question? Senator Wallin, do you have a question?

Senator Tannas: Thank you. I don’t know how far back we have to go. But you’re right, this had its beginnings a long time ago. It seems there is an issue of fairness and there are multiple parties involved. We are doing something that I don’t think has ever been done. We have extinguished what is a constitutional right of somebody. We’ve not only done that but made it retroactive.

We need to get this in front of a committee. We have an excellent Legal Affairs Committee. I think they could do this justice in short order and make it clear to folks like me what exactly it is we’re doing and why, so I can vote with a clear conscience.

Senator Tannas: Actually, I’ll put a date a little sooner than that, just because I think there is an intention to pull the rights of Canadian Pacific away before this court case happens. I don’t see any other explanation for it than that.

If that’s what we’re being asked to do, we should not foreclose that by saying we’re going to wait six months. We should deal with it in a forthright and expeditious manner and get the facts before us here so we can make the decision.

Hon. David Richards: Would Senator Tannas take a comment more than a question?

This goes back to Sandford Fleming and the Bank of Montreal and Edward Seaborne Clouston and all that was going on back in the 1880s, 1890s up until about 1910. If you’re going to study this, I think you have to go back a long way. I wonder if that’s what we’re prepared to do. I thought I would mention that.

The Hon. the Speaker pro tempore: We have three minutes.

Some Hon. Senators: No.

The Hon. the Speaker pro tempore: I’m hearing a “no.”

Those in favour of the motion and who are in the Senate Chamber will please say “yea.”

Senator Mercer: Honourable senators, I grew up in Halifax in the shadow of the Royal Canadian Navy. The Royal Canadian Navy has a very proud history of protecting Canada, which continues to this day.

The Prime Minister recently announced additional support for NATO through Operation REASSURANCE — more troops, more artillery and the addition of HMCS Halifax to its operations. Is the government, in consultation with NATO and its allies, considering any further ramp-up of military personnel by land, sea or air to Ukraine in the wake of Putin’s recent threats? I have neighbours who are members of the Royal Canadian Navy, and I want to make sure that they’re safe.

Hon. Percy E. Downe: Senator Gold, why has the government allowed the concentration of federal government employment in Ottawa and the National Capital Region to reach 47% of all federal employees, when the historical average was about one third in the Ottawa area and two thirds in the rest of Canada?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Well, thank you for the question and the underlying concern that these positions be distributed equitably so that citizens outside the capital region can serve their country and have the benefit of those. I’ll make inquiries as to the reasons that might explain the change in percentage that you outline, and I’ll be happy to report back when I get an answer.

Some Hon. Senators: Hear, hear.

Senator Gold: Senator, thank you for your question. I will make sure to add those points to my inquiries with the government.

[Translation]

Senator Gold: Thank you for your question. I have no knowledge whatsoever of any such deliberate action. I will make inquiries as to why the public accounts were delayed, and I will report back to the chamber.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Colleague, thank you for your question. As your question implies, there is a requirement that it be tabled before the end of March. I have every confidence that that will be the case, but I will certainly make every effort to get that confirmed. I will try to get an answer back to you and to this chamber as quickly as I can.

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, when shall this bill be read the second time?

(On motion of Senator Ringuette, bill placed on the Orders of the Day for second reading two days hence.)

[English]