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Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to have the opportunity to appear today before the Committee of the Whole on the occasion of its consideration of Bill 46, the proposed Donation of Food Act.
I would like to begin by thanking all of my colleagues for the supportive comments that I have received concerning this important issue.
I was happy to provide information to all members in January and a proposed bill, which you will have a copy of now in the white binder.
It was great getting feedback from everyone on our little part of what we can do to help with food insecurity in the territory.
As members will recall, I have raised the issue of donation of food legislation on a number of occasions in this House.
Currently, Nunavut lacks legislative protection for individuals, volunteer groups, or other organizations that donate food.
As a consequence, good Samaritans, those who unselfishly volunteer to help others in need, may be civilly liable and at risk of facing lawsuits if another individual becomes sick as a result of consuming food that has been donated.
As members are aware, every jurisdiction in Canada except ours has passed legislation that protects individuals, volunteer groups, or other organizations that donate food in good faith and for charitable purposes.
A number of these statutes, including those in Ontario and the Northwest Territories, were originally introduced as private members’ bills.
As members will recall from the Legislative Assembly’s sitting of March 5, 2012 and November 5, 2012, I tabled copies of the legislation that has been recently passed by the Yukon and Northwest Territories legislatures.
These statutes closely mirror the legislation that has been proposed in Canada’s 10 provinces.
Bill 46, Nunavut’s proposed Donation of Food Act, is very similar in structure and form to legislation that has been passed in other Canadian jurisdictions.
Bill 46 will provide that a person who donates food or who distributes donated food is not liable for disease, injury, death, or other harm resulting from the consumption of that food unless the person intended to harm the recipient or acted recklessly in donating or distributing the food.
Similar provisions will apply to the directors, officers, agents, employees, and volunteers of corporations and organizations involved in the donation or distribution of food.
I would note that Bill 46 will not incur any direct expenditures to the government. I would also note that Bill 46 will not amend any existing provisions in other legislation, such as the territorial Public Health Act or regulations made under the territorial Public Health Act, concerning food safety and inspections.
In preparing Bill 46, I took the opportunity to consult directly with a number of individuals and organizations in Nunavut that are actively involved in charitable activities and initiatives concerning the donation of food and food security.
I would also note that support for Bill 46, the proposed Donation of Food Act, was formally identified as a priority for action at the recent Nunavut Food Security Symposium.
As members will recall, I tabled copies of the letters of support concerning Bill 46 that I have received from “Feeding My Family Nunavut,” the Skills Nunavut/Skills Canada Cooking Club, the Qayuqtuvik Society, Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated, the Frobisher Inn, the North West Company, and Arctic Cooperatives Ltd.
I am very pleased to have the opportunity to pay tribute to the work of these organizations in helping to address the issue of food security in Nunavut. As the letters of support point out, the passage of Bill 46 will encourage more donations of food to those in need.
I would also note the potential benefit that the passage of Bill 46 will have with respect to the sharing of country food in our communities.
Earlier this month, one of my constituents in Grise Fiord, who is an active hunter, commented publicly on the recent approval of a new narwhal management plan for Nunavut. He indicated that the community is looking forward to an increase in the amount of country food that will be shared as a result of the increased quota.
I would like to conclude by again expressing my personal appreciation to all members for their commitment to addressing issues related to food security in Nunavut.
I believe that the passage of Bill 46, the proposed Donation of Food Act, will make a difference in the lives of our constituents and communities, and I respectfully ask for all members’ support in ensuring that it becomes law.
Chairman: Thank you, Mr. Elliott. (interpretation) Before we proceed with discussions on the bill, I would like to remind you of our rules, two in particular.
According to Rule 77(1), you have 10 minutes to speak, and according to Rule 77(2), subject to the discretion of the Chair, a member may speak more than once to a matter under discussion but not until every member wishing to speak has spoken.
Hon. Monica Ell (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
As the seconder to Bill 46, the Donation of Food Act, I would like to make a brief statement.
(interpretation ends) At first glance, this Nunavut Donation of Food Act may be seen as not needed given that food sharing is an integral part of Inuit culture. In fact, many Inuit I spoke to could not understand upon first hearing a scenario where a food donator might be sued if someone had become sick from eating donated food. It is just not our way.
Inuit have survived in our homeland all of these years by sharing food. Our ancestors could not have lived without the tradition of sharing food. There are many benefits to this traditional practice.
By sharing food, you show respect to your elders, to your parents, as well as to others. Also, lifelong kinship ties are established between food sharing families and communities and of course, nothing ever gets wasted.
Frankly, one of the traditions that I am most proud of in my culture is that of sharing food within our community. Those who could not hunt for whatever reason were never in need, as we all shared.
However, recently, an elder and a hunter mentioned at the Nunavut Food Security Symposium that times have changed.
Now it seems that elders no longer get as much food as they used to, as hunters sometimes sell their catch for upkeep of their hunting equipment, their gas, bullets, and to pay their household bills.
Inuit are famous for their adaptability to new circumstances and for being able to blend the best of Inuit societal values into the reality of today’s life and in some ways, so does this bill.
This private member’s bill will bring Nunavut into line with many other jurisdictions which have already enacted similar bills.
This bill will permit retailers, hotels, and businesses that have foodstuffs which are fit to eat to donate it without fear of possible legal action.
I know many of us have attended events and functions that have leftover food that could have been donated, but without the protection of a Donation of Food Act, the leftovers were just thrown away.
Currently, leftover food cannot be donated because of some possible legal action if someone got sick.
It just seems like common sense to send the food to be used by people who need it as long as the food is fit to eat. It certainly is the Inuit way to share it with everyone.
This private member’s bill permits the good faith donation of prepared foods in good condition.
While our ancestors, especially mine, may look upon the necessity of this bill with bewilderment, at this moment, I’m thinking of my dad, who used to always share his traditional food catch.
It is common sense in our current circumstances to pass this bill and ensure that the hungry obtain an extra source of food.
I thank the Member Quttiktuq for bringing this private member’s bill forward and I’m happy to second it.
It gives me great pleasure to speak to this bill.
Cambridge Bay opened our food bank in the year 2000 and it has grown to be a very vibrant, active, and essential facility in our community.
It supports 70 to 80 individuals and families every month.
So I know how urgent it is to support food banks and help people to get an adequate amount of food.
Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank MLA Elliott for his work on this initiative and moving it through the legislative process so quickly. Since he raised it with me in question period last fall sitting, I immediately saw the potential for this bill. I would like to thank my colleague, Minister Ell, for seconding it.
Mr. Chairman, I have spoken to my health and social services department. We will offer our promotional support to best communicate the Act to Nunavut and help roll it out in Nunavut.
Mr. Chairman, I support the passing of Bill 46.
Chairman: Thank you, Mr. Peterson. (interpretation) Are there any general comments?
This legislation is fine, but I feel that we have to strengthen it a bit more.
The goods previously purchased by donors and donated to the food bank will be free, but there won’t be a whole lot of meat and that is obviously because mostly cans are donated.
With respect to country food donated by the hunters of the community, Inuit cultural values dictate that they announce that meat is available for pickup at their homes. This is part of the Inuit way of sharing and this won’t change in the immediate future.
It will continue.
With respect to the food bank, based on my experiences and understanding, it isn’t part of the Inuit culture to go to a building to pick up extra food. The merchandise donated also tends to have a lot of expiration dates surpassed.
As an example, I can provide a personal event that we went through. When my wife and I awoke one morning, we had a lot of eggs the previous evening. (interpretation ends) One minute later, (interpretation) they were gone. My son saw the expiry date, stated that they were way past due, and threw them in the garbage.
(interpretation ends) So my question is: (interpretation) are the volunteers going to be taught to look at the expiration date on the food that is donated? Will this be part of the work? I don’t want to see anyone put in danger due to expired foods, so I wonder if the volunteers will be trained to inspect the dates.
I feel that they should be trained since we sometimes have banned foods or food recalls by the big manufacturers.
We have heard about big food companies sending food to the north that should have been thrown out, as we sometimes see notices about certain products.
Will this bill include a section on required inspections?
If it were to include this, then I would be in support. I feel we can put some teeth into the bill so that it includes such a provision as this: “No person should donate food that is past its expiry date in cases where the food has the expiration date listed.”
I would prefer that this section be included, so I would ask our Law Clerk provide a written response on this issue.
I want to remind the members that we are on general comments at this time.
Mr. Curley, when we get to clause-by-clause review of Bill 46, you can ask your question.
I, too, am glad this bill was introduced and I will be in support of it.
In communities, especially those that host a lot of meetings perhaps, it becomes noticeable that when there are preparations for a community feast or when catering is involved and the participants aren’t able to arrive on the dates, many prepared foods have to be thrown out.
You can’t just leave it outside of the meeting venue sometimes due to the regulations.
There is an awful lot of food that could have provided sustenance to hungry people that ends up being thrown out. Again, it’s due to regulations they have to follow, especially caterers.
I hope that this bill will provide more benefits.
I support the caterers who cater these meetings and hope they can provide more food to the hungry people in their communities if there is an opportunity to donate the food instead of throwing it away.
We should not be afraid to donate food to people who need it, whether we are just regular people or a company.
The purpose of this bill is to allow donations to alleviate some of the hunger that exists in our territory and I support it for these reasons.
Mr. Ningark (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I also thank Mr. Elliott for introducing this bill, along with Madam Ell, for remembering the fact that sometimes our residents face hunger without enough food at home.
First of all, when you have travelled to many communities, you note this practice, especially in Repulse Bay, which is one of my constituent communities. I have really seen this practice there, which I believe Mr. Kusugak is well aware of, along with others who have travelled to Repulse Bay. If you go to Repulse Bay, you can hear people on the local radio making announcements about extra food at their homes, such as, “I just returned from fishing and whoever needs arctic char is welcome to pick some up at this house.”
Another example is “I just caught a caribou recently and whoever wants some fresh meat can pick up some meat.” Also in spring or summertime, someone will say, “I have just caught a narwhal and people are welcome to pick up some mattaaq.” This is our ancient Inuit tradition, which is still practised in Repulse Bay and is evident in the community.
I fully support this bill, so let us ensure we pass it. We have to try to enact it. I wanted to return to a comment made by my good friend, Mr. Curley.
Indeed, it can have a dangerous side when you speak about recalled foods.
We have to be concerned about these products, especially since Inuit have a very different lifestyle and are now largely community bound with rising populations. Our culture is slowly changing with new practices, but we should never forget our ancient customs and practices. We have to develop new legislation to that effect, so I will be supporting Bill 46.
I don’t want to speak lengthily about this subject.
I, too, will support this bill introduced today. We’re now all aware that many Nunavummiut go hungry.
Some people visit other homes to try and provide food for their families, especially country food. Some people are perpetually hungry.
I want to voice my support for this bill. Our Inuit culture is still strong and practised in many communities where hunters share their harvests with those less fortunate. This practice continues in our communities and it will not be affected.
I believe this bill is geared more towards our food banks and donations to them. I fully support this bill.
I have no more names on my list. We will now proceed to clause-by-clause review of Bill 46.
Do you agree to proceed clause by clause?
Chairman (interpretation): We will be doing a clause-by-clause review of the bill. Bill 46, Donation of Food Act. Clause 1.
I would like to have the legal counsel draft up the following under section 1, subsection (a) and (b), to include a new subsection (c) with the following wording: “Not to donate any food way past the expiration date or out-of-date products.”
I would like to have that included as subsection (c) and I will be making a motion to that effect shortly. (interpretation ends) Thank you.
Chairman (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Curley. (interpretation ends) Legal counsel, I’ll ask you to comment.
Mr. Elliott, do you want to comment on it? Okay. Mr. Elliott.
I was just waiting for the light to come on.
If I could respond to Mr. Curley’s question, it’s one of the things that was discussed and thought about in terms of the terms of best-before and expired, and it was not determined that it was something that should be put in the bill.
Across other jurisdictions, it’s not included in the bill.
I guess one of the things in terms of the thought process and their thinking of why we do this, as he was speaking in his opening comments, I thought maybe one of the expressions is we should “back the truck up” mainly because I’m really happy that the Minister of Health and Social Services is going to provide assistance with publicizing this Act once it’s passed.
If members are aware, I find with Nutrition North, I have done a lot of research… .
>>No audio from 16:51 to 16:56
Chairman (interpretation): I wish to apologize to my fellow committee members and Nunavummiut for the ongoing technical problems and difficulties we are experiencing. Now that these technical problems have been resolved, we can reconvene our meeting.
I believe it was Mr. Elliott who was speaking when we got cut off. Please continue with your statement, Mr. Elliott.
Yes, before the alarm went off, we were talking about best-before dates and expiry dates. A lot of times, I think there needs to be consumer awareness when you go into Northern stores and Co-op stores and checking labels and checking dates. I see that happening a lot more, as some of the members talked about stuff being taken off the shelf and whatnot.
In terms of the intention of the bill and the best-before dates and the expiry dates, there’s a difference between if it’s an expiry date, that’s the drop-dead date, and there are different products that have different dates. In terms of the way it is expressed on packages like bread, for example, just because it passes the best-before date does not necessarily mean that it’s not fit for human consumption, which is what the bill actually expresses.
Bill 46 does not provide protection for liability for persons or organizations that knowingly or recklessly donate food which is unfit for human consumption. I think that speaks to what Mr. Curley is talking about.
In terms of food that passes its best-before date, it’s not necessarily unsafe, and that’s why I thanked Mr. Peterson with his assistance with his department in terms of public awareness that Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency have published helpful guidelines for consumers on the subject of date labelling and food safety.
Definitely, I would encourage potential donors of food to refer to this information.
Mr. Curley: Thank you, Iksivautaaq. (interpretation) Yes, that is quite concise and clear.
Also, when Mr. Elliott made his initial comments, he stated that in the provinces where the legislation already exists, they don’t draft up standards nor are they required to put expiry dates on the products.
That is why we have to be wary of such issues since most products don’t immediately putrefy. However, some of the issues he noted that require dates should be looked at and recommended, such as for certain diary products.
What I wanted to reiterate was this message: if we are going to enact legislation here in Nunavut, it has to be tailored to our needs.
Even if the legislation is similar to Ontarian legislation, it would not be the same as in their case.
The supplier is in close proximity to the vendor; some are less than an hour away from where they are bought.
Here in Nunavut, we experience other issues, especially with canned foods that arrive already past their expiry date.
That is the reason why I wanted to move a motion to amend the bill with additional wording to ensure we note the best-before and expiry dates. I want these dates to be included as notable items and if it is written into the bill, it would make it easier.
That is the motion I wanted to move, if the language can be drafted up.
I personally don’t want to get a notice stating that the Minister for the Department of Health will be responsible for monitoring this aspect. Personally, I don’t like that option.
So I would like to introduce that motion if the sponsor doesn’t mind.
Do I understand that you would like to propose a motion?
Mr. Curley (interpretation): Yes, I wish to propose a motion to include a section (c) because the draft bill states that if the product is slightly past the expiry date, it is edible, but it doesn’t read that they consider it inedible. For some products, it is easy to see the expiry date, especially perishable items that can wilt and become inedible after a certain time, such as milk or cheese and other products.
I would like to add this language so that you list the best-before date and the expiry date listed in the bill and to ensure that the expired products as outlined in this bill are not donated.
That would be much better in my opinion.
So I’m proposing to make an amendment to the bill so that that would be included.
I know that everyone would like to make a contribution. Mr. Curley is proposing a motion to amend the bill.
If you are going to make an amendment to the bill, it has to be in writing. So we will have to take a break if that is going to be the case.
Before we approve clause 1, we will take a break so that we can write up the motion.
I will give the opportunity for other members to make comments.
I know Mr. Curley had mentioned if he thought that I felt there was a need for an amendment and I would disagree. I don’t feel there is a need for an amendment. He mentioned about Ontario and southern jurisdictions, and I recognize the transportation system is a lot faster in the south in terms of moving food in and out of the supply chains.
I would recognize that potato chips are a good example of how there is kind of a best-before or kind of false date on them.
Our sister territories of the Northwest Territories and the Yukon did not feel that there was a need to add the extra clause. I’m talking specifically about best-before or expired food.
My interpretation of what we’re trying to accomplish here is to have more people make donations.
So the idea is if food is donated after its best-before date, then the donor would take the responsibility as to clause 1(b)(ii). I’m saying expired; I’m not saying best-before. If you’re putting expired milk or eggs, as the member was referring to, and you’re actually serving that to people, then, to me, the way that the legislation is written, part 1(b)(ii) comes in, where you’re acting with reckless disregard and safety for others.
So it’s built into the legislation already that if people are not following the rules… . There are different rules set out in the Public Health Act how to handle food and how to treat food. There are food safety courses that are available as well.
As I pointed out earlier, Health Canada has material that’s available and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has published material which talks about the difference between best-before and expired.
The intent would be the donor, who is doing the good will act, is checking before they start serving it to individuals.
So I don’t feel there would be a need to actually add an amendment because it’s built into the legislation already.
So that was going to be my point, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Elliott. (interpretation ends) I have to admit that there’s another new one for me as your Chair.
Please bear with me. I’m going to take a 10-minute break, and I would strongly urge Mr. Curley to talk with our legal counsel. When we come back, hopefully we will be able to finish off with clause 1 with or without an amendment.
So with that, I will take a 10-minute break. (interpretation) Thank you.
>>Committee recessed at 17:06 and resumed at 17:25
We can resume our meeting.
I’m sure that Mr. Curley and our Law Clerk had a discussion.
Mr. Curley: Thank you, Iksivautaaq. (interpretation) This will be quick.
Mr. Chairman, (interpretation ends) just to be very quick, I am aware, to a certain extent, the onus is on the donor to provide food that is safe for consumption. The bill gives that responsibility to a donor to make sure that whatever they give is safe and so on.
I think many of us know that a majority of the people in Nunavut are not aware of best-before dates and expiry dates.
Unlike the southern consumer-conscious people, we’re far from that yet. Even with the nutritious foodstuff that is promoted, a lot of it is good work done by the health officials.
A lot of people, including myself, don’t have a clue of what nutritious food is other than traditional ones.
So merchandise-wise, many of our people really need more help in making them aware.
I was trying to ensure that we be a little more specific rather than being very general.
I must admit that I don’t know about this bill and it really was quite evident during the break that I don’t know anything about this bill. So I will withdraw my intent to introduce a motion.
I would like to get the Inuktitut copy of the Donation of Food Act so that I can ask the appropriate question.