As a result of their deliberations committees may make recommendations which they include in their reports for the consideration of the House of Commons or the Government. Recommendations related to this study are listed below.

Recommendation 1

The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada work with its NATO allies to support Ukraine in achieving the following objectives:

•   Reviewing the security of Ukrainian supply chains at all points to reduce the risk of early sabotage and theft;
•   Assisting with the deactivation and safe disposal of land mines on Ukrainian soil; and
•   Monitoring and tracking shipments of grain stolen from Ukrainian farmers and applying targeted sanctions against those responsible for the theft.

Recommendation 2

The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada make concrete changes to its temporary foreign worker programs to decrease wait times and paperwork by:

•   Streamlining the Labour Market Impact Assessment process so that workers on farms, in processing plants, and throughout the agricultural production chain can arrive in Canada in a timelier fashion, notably through the introduction of a Trusted Employer Model; and
•   Ensuring that temporary foreign workers employed in agriculture and food manufacturing cannot be recruited by businesses in other sectors once they arrive in Canada.

Recommendation 3

The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada work with the provinces and territories—in partnership with stakeholders from agriculture, industry, and labour—to expedite the completion of its National Agricultural Labour Strategy while acknowledging existing federal-provincial labour agreements.

Recommendation 4

The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada expedite the publication of its clarified guidelines for the regulation of products of plant breeding innovation, while considering the concerns of the organic sector.

Recommendation 5

The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada review the legislation and regulations on norms of reciprocity to ensure that foreign products have the same quality and safety levels as local products.

Recommendation 6

Keeping in mind that global food security in the long run rests on the shoulders of the next generations of farmers, the Committee recommends that the Government of Canada, while respecting provincial competences:

•   Explore ways to address the mental health of workers in the agricultural and agri‑food sector, notably by adjusting the mandate of Farm Credit Canada to require it to fund mental health support and prevention programs on an ongoing basis, and that it re‑examine the recommendations made in the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri‑Food’s 16^th report of the 42^nd Parliament entitled “Mental Health: A Priority for Our Farmers;” and
•   Clarify the application of the Income Tax Act’s provisions regarding the intergenerational transfer of farms.

Recommendation 7

The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada implement a statutory deemed trust or a protection program for fruit and vegetable growers in the event of a buyer’s bankruptcy to ensure that these producers have access to the U.S. Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA).

Recommendation 8

The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada accelerate the completion of a Canada-wide inventory of grasslands and wetlands.

Recommendation 9

The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada:

•   Review its tariff policy on fertilizer imports from Russia in light of the evolving situation in Ukraine and in the context of food security and look at ways to return the funds collected back to farmers under the Most-Favoured-Nation Tariff Withdrawal Order (2022-1); and
•   Explore ways to stimulate Canada’s production of fertilizer to reduce its dependence on foreign suppliers.

Recommendation 10

The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada:

•   Recognize that Canadian agricultural producers are leading the world in the efficient use of fertilizers and that it not proceed with any mandatory fertilizer emissions reduction policy that would jeopardize farmers’ yields, but instead encourage them to implement best nutrient management practices such as the 4R Program; and
•   Examine opportunities to fund research and development and further innovation in the use of fertilizer in agriculture.

Recommendation 11

The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada increase its support to local and regional food system sustainability such as by encouraging:

•   The development of small-scale community-based food systems;
•   The building of local processing capacity, including regional slaughter capacity; and
•   The development and expansion of initiatives aiming to strengthen food security such as the Local Food Infrastructure Fund.

Recommendation 12

The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada take the following actions in response to the issues facing meat processors:

•   Remove interprovincial trade barriers through the harmonization of provincial standards, in cooperation with provincial and territorial governments; and
•   Work with relevant stakeholders to update as soon as possible Part I.1 of the Animal Health Regulations on specified risk material to reflect the decision made in 2021 by the World Organization for Animal Health to change Canada’s bovine spongiform encephalopathy status to “negligible.”.

Recommendation 13

The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada:

•   Update and promote its guiding documents to combat the spread of animal illnesses such as the avian flu, African swine fever, foot-and-mouth disease and other infectious diseases; and
•   Ensure that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the Canadian Border Service Agency have the necessary resources available to monitor our borders and to be able to respond swiftly to investigate and contain an outbreak once it has been detected.

Recommendation 14

The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada increase its fight against food waste including by reinstating the Surplus Food Rescue Program in the short‑term.

Recommendation 15

The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada engage in discussions with the provinces and territories with a view to implementing measures both to encourage short supply chains and value-added products and to promote cooperation between various sectors to dispose of “agricultural waste” in order to reduce food waste.

Recommendation 16

The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada recognize that climate change is a major risk factor for food insecurity and that Canada must do more not only to reduce its own emissions but also to help other countries do so in a sustainable way by sharing next-generation technologies.

Recommendation 17

The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada develop climate change adaptation programs for producers and processors by promoting research in the following areas:

•   Genetic engineering, where research must be done in a transparent and serious manner, taking into account the precautionary principle, in order to ensure the safety of Canadian and Quebec products;
•   Agricultural machinery, where innovations would increase productivity in the sector and alleviate the chronic labour shortage;
•   Information technology, taking into account Internet and cellular access in rural areas and innovative agricultural practices; and
•   Low- and renewable-energy-based farming.

Recommendation 18

The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada, in cooperation with the provinces and territories:

•   Implement the immediate response actions and long-term strategic actions contained in the Final Report of the National Supply Chain Task Force;
•   Reduce bottlenecks and other obstacles to the flow of food commodities to limit their impacts on perishable food, acknowledging that vast amounts of money have already been invested through the National Trade Corridors Fund;
•   Encourage investments in the rail system to promote the movement of goods at a lower cost and, more significantly, with a smaller carbon footprint; and
•   Coordinate joint action between the Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food and the Department of Transport to ensure the availability of containers for inputs and exports and that it apply relevant competition legislation in this area.

Recommendation 19

The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada:

•   More effectively enforce provisions in existing free trade agreements, such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, to improve Canadian producers’ access to foreign markets and reduce non-tariff trade barriers to Canadian agricultural products; and
•   Pursue policies that promote Canadian agricultural and agri-food exports internationally, notably by encouraging the reciprocity of norms.

Recommendation 20

The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada increase its contribution to global food assistance for countries which are facing a food crisis, particularly those reliant on imports from Ukraine or Russia.

Recommendation 21

The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada protect the supply management system and consider ways its international development programming can promote the exchange of lessons learned in the areas of production and price stability with farmers in developing countries.

Recommendation 22

The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada work with international partners and target its international assistance marked for food security to climate-resilient and science-based agricultural development, including agroecological designs, techniques, and principles.