OTTAWA - The Conservative government is taking a
bite out of the UN right-to-food envoy's critical report
on Canada.
In his 21-page report, Olivier De Schutter said if some
people in Canada don't have enough food to feed their
families, it's in part because the Tories scrapped the
mandatory long-form census and abolished the
Canadian Wheat Board.
He also took aim at federal budget cuts and Canada's
free trade negotiations with the European Union,
warning they could endanger the poultry, dairy and
egg supply management scheme and so-called "buy
local" initiatives and transfer payments to the
provinces, which he said need to increase and come
with more federal strings attached.
In the final report tabled Monday with the Geneva-
based UN Human Rights Council - a 47-member body
that includes Kazakhstan and the Democratic Republic
of the Congo - the UN special rapporteur called on the
feds to establish a national food strategy, noting that
in the 2011 federal election all major parties included
one in their platforms.
He raises warnings a growing number of people are
food-insecure in Canada, quoting estimates that vary
between 1.92 million and 4.3 million people.
Conservative cabinet ministers Leona Aglukkaq and
Jason Kenney hit hard at De Schutter during his 11-day
Canadian fact-finding tour last year, with Kenney
calling it "a discredit to the United Nations" for
spending his time in a wealthy country like Canada.
Aglukkaq was no more impressed by Monday's report.
She pointed to his failure to visit Canada's North
before weighing in on food security there and seemed
deaf to related issues like the importance of the seal
hunt to the northern diet.
"It's a reflection this person doesn't want to hear the
other side, so as far as I'm concerned it's a one-sided
report and has no credibility," she said.
Canada's UN ambassador in Geneva, Elissa Goldberg,
voiced the government's sharp criticism there Monday,
saying De Schutter exceeded his mandate by
commenting on agriculture, foreign aid and trade
policies.
Opposition parties are accusing the Conservatives of
attacking the messenger.
Liberal MP Dominic LeBlanc said this report highlights
another example of the Conservative government's
"abysmal record of embarrassing Canada
internationally" and accuses them of failing to tackle
poverty.
Last summer, De Schutter visited Montreal, Quebec
City, Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg and Edmonton and
met with federal, provincial and municipal officials,
Aboriginal representatives, farmers, academics and
other members of civil-society groups.
--with files from Brigitte Pellerin
http://www.torontosun.com/2013/03/04/un-envoy-
blames-harper-policies-for-food-insecurity-in-
canada
bite out of the UN right-to-food envoy's critical report
on Canada.
In his 21-page report, Olivier De Schutter said if some
people in Canada don't have enough food to feed their
families, it's in part because the Tories scrapped the
mandatory long-form census and abolished the
Canadian Wheat Board.
He also took aim at federal budget cuts and Canada's
free trade negotiations with the European Union,
warning they could endanger the poultry, dairy and
egg supply management scheme and so-called "buy
local" initiatives and transfer payments to the
provinces, which he said need to increase and come
with more federal strings attached.
In the final report tabled Monday with the Geneva-
based UN Human Rights Council - a 47-member body
that includes Kazakhstan and the Democratic Republic
of the Congo - the UN special rapporteur called on the
feds to establish a national food strategy, noting that
in the 2011 federal election all major parties included
one in their platforms.
He raises warnings a growing number of people are
food-insecure in Canada, quoting estimates that vary
between 1.92 million and 4.3 million people.
Conservative cabinet ministers Leona Aglukkaq and
Jason Kenney hit hard at De Schutter during his 11-day
Canadian fact-finding tour last year, with Kenney
calling it "a discredit to the United Nations" for
spending his time in a wealthy country like Canada.
Aglukkaq was no more impressed by Monday's report.
She pointed to his failure to visit Canada's North
before weighing in on food security there and seemed
deaf to related issues like the importance of the seal
hunt to the northern diet.
"It's a reflection this person doesn't want to hear the
other side, so as far as I'm concerned it's a one-sided
report and has no credibility," she said.
Canada's UN ambassador in Geneva, Elissa Goldberg,
voiced the government's sharp criticism there Monday,
saying De Schutter exceeded his mandate by
commenting on agriculture, foreign aid and trade
policies.
Opposition parties are accusing the Conservatives of
attacking the messenger.
Liberal MP Dominic LeBlanc said this report highlights
another example of the Conservative government's
"abysmal record of embarrassing Canada
internationally" and accuses them of failing to tackle
poverty.
Last summer, De Schutter visited Montreal, Quebec
City, Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg and Edmonton and
met with federal, provincial and municipal officials,
Aboriginal representatives, farmers, academics and
other members of civil-society groups.
--with files from Brigitte Pellerin
http://www.torontosun.com/2013/03/04/un-envoy-
blames-harper-policies-for-food-insecurity-in-
canada
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