UN food report increases tension between MPs

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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The Harper government faces criticism by the opposition and other agencies for neglecting the food report of United Nations. On Wednesday, UN right-to-food rapporteur Olivier De Schutter summed up his 11-day tour to Canada by indicating that the country needs to work on its food security and obesity rates.

“What I’ve seen in Canada is a system that presents barriers for the poor to access nutritious diets and that tolerates increased inequalities between rich and poor, and aboriginal non-aboriginal peoples,” said Olivier De Schutter.

He added, “Canada has long been seen as a land of plenty. Yet today one in 10 families with a child under 6 is unable to meet their daily food needs. These rates of food insecurity are unacceptable, and it is time for Canada to adopt a national right-to-food strategy.”

Harper government snapped at UN’s report suggesting them to stop wasting their resources in studying developed countries like Canada and instead look up the developing nations in other parts of the world.

NDP MP Jean Crowder said: “The government is ignoring the facts. The first step is admitting there is a problem. Will the minister at least do that?”

Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq responded by saying the UN should not have judged whether Canadians in the North have any access to food or not.

“How dare he come to Canada to study us, once again, from afar and declare what is best for us as Inuit in our country?” she asked. “He should look at the European Union position on the seal hunt and look at the impact on food security of Canadian Inuit, instead of coming here to tell us what to do and what is best for us.”