BILL 29

Local Food Security Act

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick, enacts as follows:

PART 1

PURPOSE AND INTERPRETATION

Purpose of Act

1 The purposes of this Act are: 

ato ensure and strengthen a sustainable local food economy in New Brunswick;

bto promote local food procurement in New Brunswick;

cto improve the health of New Brunswickers through increased availability of fresh local food; and

dto provide New Brunswick students with food, agriculture, and garden-based education in school.

Definitions

2 The following definitions apply in this Act.

“farm” means premises the whole or part of which are used for agricultural purposes and, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, includes premises used for:  (ferme)

athe production of plants for the purpose of the sale of such plants, or any part thereof; and

bthe production, including breeding, rearing, or fattening of animals for the purpose of the sale of such animals, or any part thereof.

“food, agriculture, and garden-based education” means curriculum that conveys an understanding of local food systems by way of direct educational experiences, including local food tasting and sampling, participation in school gardens, composting programs, food preparation, and farm tours. (éducation en matière d’alimentation, d’agriculture et de jardinage)

“healthy food education” means curriculum that conveys an understanding of local food systems, including food-related life skills, and the impact of food system practices and food choices on health, the environment, and the economy. (éducation nutritionnelle)

“local food” means (aliments locaux)

afood produced or harvested in New Brunswick, and

bsubject to any limitation in the regulations, food and beverages made in New Brunswick if at least 80% of their ingredients were produced or harvested in New Brunswick.

“local food assessment” means an assessment of local food systems that provides an inventory of food resources available at the community level, and an investigation into the scope of, barriers to, and opportunities for local food production and distribution with the goal of increasing food availability. (évaluation de l’alimentation locale)

“local food system” means a chain of activities and processes related to the production, processing, distribution and consumption of local food. (système alimentaire local)

“local organic food” means food that is local which meets the Canadian Organic Certification Standards. (aliments biologiques locaux)

“Minister” means, unless the context requires otherwise, the Minister of Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fisheries or such other member of the Executive Council as may be assigned the administration of this Act. (ministre)

“public body” means:  (organisme public)

aa department, secretariat or office of the Province of New Brunswick, including but not limited to those portions of the public service specified in Part I of the First Schedule of the Public Service Labour Relations Act;

ba government body, board, Crown corporation or commission listed under Part IV of the First Schedule of the Public Service Labour Relations Act;

ca regional health authority as defined in the Regional Health Authorities Act;

da District Education Council established under the Education Act;

ean institution as defined in the Adult Education and Training Act; and

fa nursing home as defined in the Nursing Homes Act.

“sustainable development” means development that meets the needs of the present, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. (développement durable)

PART 2

LOCAL FOOD SECURITY STRATEGY
AND TARGETS

Targets

3( 1) Within 12 months of the coming into force of this Act, the Minister shall establish targets in relation to:

alocal food procurement;

blocal food distribution; and

clocal food education.

3( 2) To achieve one or more purposes of this Act, the Minister shall establish qualitative and quantitative targets relating to local food.

3( 3) The Minister may from time to time amend the targets established under this section.

New Brunswick Local Food Security Strategy

4( 1) Within 12 months of the coming into force of this Act, the Minister shall develop a New Brunswick Local Food Security Strategy.

4( 2) The New Brunswick Local Food Security Strategy shall include

aa vision for achieving the purposes of this Act, and

bthe targets established under this Act and how those targets assist in achieving the purposes of this Act.

4( 3) The New Brunswick Local Food Security Strategy shall be reviewed every 5 years and, where appropriate, amended to reflect new and improved targets and developments in New Brunswick in respect of health, environmental protection, access and education in relation to local food.

4( 4) The Minister shall table a report with the Legislative Assembly on the New Brunswick Local Food Security Strategy every 5 years, with the first report to be tabled by December 31, 2025.

4( 5) Notwithstanding subsection (4), the Minister shall provide annual progress reports to the Legislative Assembly, with the first being due no later than December 31 of the year following the coming into force of this Act.

4( 6) The contents of reports referred to in subsections (4) and (5) shall include a description of actions taken to support the New Brunswick Local Food Security Strategy and progress made in achieving targets established under section 3, and such other matters as the Minister considers advisable.

PART 3

LOCAL FOOD ASSESSMENT AND PROCUREMENT

Local food assessment

5 Within 12 months of the coming into force of this Act, the Minister shall undertake a local food assessment that shall consist of an

aexamination of a baseline for agricultural production output in New Brunswick, including data on

( i) the amount of food produced annually within New Brunswick,

( ii) the amount of food that is purchased and consumed by New Brunswick residents and the extent to which the food produced in New Brunswick is processed, distributed, and marketed locally, and

( iii) the amount of New Brunswick-produced food that is purchased by public bodies, and

bidentification of barriers that limit the access of the food and farming sector to production, distribution, and consumer markets within New Brunswick.

Local food procurement

6( 1) The Minister shall direct public bodies to increase the percentage of their food budgets spent on local or local organic food, annually, until such local food procurements constitute a significant percentage of their overall food budgets specified through relevant targets.

6( 2) To meet the goals set forth in this section, a public body contract for the purchase of food may give preference to an otherwise qualified bidder who provides local or local organic food, provided that the cost included in the bid is not more than 10% greater than the cost included in a bid that is not for local or local organic food where that food will enhance the security of the local food system in New Brunswick and will contribute to the sustainable development of New Brunswick.

6( 3) This section does not apply to procurements that are contrary to national or international trade agreements to which New Brunswick is bound by agreement with Canada.

PART 4

LABELLING OF LOCALLY PRODUCED AND PROCESSED FOODS

Labelling

7 The Minister shall establish a labelling system to identify food produced and processed in New Brunswick.

PART 5

HEALTHY FOOD EDUCATION IN SCHOOLS

Definition

8 In this Part, “ministers” means the Minister of Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fisheries, the Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development, and the Minister of Health.

Food, agriculture, and garden-based education

9 The ministers shall promote food, agriculture, and garden-based education in schools maintaining kindergarten, or any of grades one to 12, inclusive.

Professional development

10( 1) The ministers shall assist schools and District Education Councils to incorporate food, agriculture, and garden-based education into their curriculum and to develop related programming for the professional development of teachers and education staff.

10( 2) The ministers shall provide information to schools on how the policy on healthy food education will improve the implementation of curriculum guidelines and policies mandated by the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development.

10( 3) Professional development provided by the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development shall provide instruction to teachers and education staff on how to deliver healthy food education, including food, agriculture and garden-based learning opportunities to students.

PART 6

OFFENCES AND PENALTIES

Offences

11 Every public body that contravenes a direction issued under subsection 6(1) is guilty of an offence.

Penalties

12( 1) A public body that is guilty of an offence under section 11 is liable, on conviction,

ain the case of a first conviction, to a fine of not more than $5,000 for each day or part of a day on which the offence occurs or continues, and

bin the case of a subsequent conviction, to a fine of not more than $10,000 for each day or part of a day on which the offence occurs or continues.

Limitation

12( 2) A proceeding under this section shall not be commenced more than 2 years after the later of the following days:

athe day on which the offence was committed;

bthe day on which evidence of the offence first came to the attention of the Minister.

Conflict

13 If there is a conflict between this Act or regulations and a provision of another Act, regulation, or municipal by-law dealing with local food, food education, organic food, food production, procurement, or distribution, the provision that is the most protective of human health or the environment prevails.

PART 8

REGULATIONS AND COMMENCEMENT

Regulations

14 The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may make regulations: 

aclarifying any definitions included in section 2;

bgoverning the development of targets under section 3;

cgoverning the development of the strategy under section 4;

dgoverning the development of local food assessments under section 5;

egoverning the direction, development and implementation of local food procurement measures under section 6;

fgoverning the development and implementation of a labelling system for food produced and processed in New Brunswick under section 7;

ggoverning the development of educational and professional development programs under sections 9 and 10; and

hrespecting any other matter the Lieutenant Governor in Council considers necessary or advisable for the purposes of this Act.

Commencement

15 This Act or any provision of it comes into force on a day or days to be fixed by proclamation.