History of the Formation of Food Secure Canada
1998 2001 2004 2005 2006 2008 2010
Canada’s Action Plan for Food Security (1998) recognized the important role played by civil society "in social, political and economic reform, through public education, advocacy and participation in public policy formulation. The efforts of civil society, together with information and awareness-raising programmes by all levels of government were considered to be "essential in ensuring public engagement on issues related to food security." The Action Plan also identified the need to "[u]ndertake a major increase in efforts to educate Canadians about food security issues and to support initiatives geared toward enhanced involvement of citizens in achieving community food security".
Consultations with civil society organizations (CSOs) during the drafting of the Action Plan and monitoring of implementation aimed to reflect CSOs sensitivities and priorities as well as their contributions to food security in Canada and globally. Participation of CSOs at this level was voluntary and haphazard. Civil society representatives criticized this approach as ineffective, simply serving to legitimize existing decision making (or lack thereof) rather than being a real process for CSO participation.
As part of the process of consultations that occurred before the World Food Summit -Five Years Later conference in June 2002, the Working Together: Civil Society Input for Food Security in Canada was held on 15-17 June 2001, at Ryerson Polytechnic University, Toronto. This conference was a first in Canada , bringing together representatives of various civil society organizations and networks from every province and territory to develop strategies for increasing Canada 's commitment on Food Security both domestically and internationally.
Near the end of the conference, the following resolution was passed unanimously, which lays the groundwork for where we are at today:
"The Conference resolves that there is a need for a national Canadian Food Security Network and that the organizing committee has the temporary mandate to explore ways of facilitating this and opening it up to a broad-based national membership."
The Winnipeg Food Assembly 2004
From October 14-16, 2004, over 200 people from throughout Canada representing a diverse group of organizations and individuals working on food security domestically and internationally met in Winnipeg . On October 16 – World Food Day – the conference agreed an organization would be formed to advocate and speak on food security issues facing Canada . An interim organizing committee was formed to flesh out the form such an organization would take.
The conference unanimously agreed that any organization would be founded upon three principles:
• Zero hunger
• A sustainable food system
• Healthy and safe food.
This organization would be open to individuals and groups. The conference agreed to convene around next World Food Day, tentatively in Waterloo, Ontario to ratify the work of the interim steering committee and to elect officers to the new organization.
The 3rd National Food Security Assembly
The Waterloo Assembly was held September 30-October 1st 2005. It was a jam-packed event with workshops arranged according to Food Secure Canada's three commitments, each of which came up with action recommendations. These were summarized into an Action Agenda. The Assembly also elected an initial Steering Committee which spent the next year finalizing the organization’s Constitution and Bylaws. Three working papers, on Child Nutrition, the Right to Food, and Food Localism were developed and circulated to the membership for consideration. An International Working Group was also formed to monitor Canada’s actions and policies on the global stage.
Bridging Borders Toward Food Security
In October 7th -11th 2006, Food Secure Canada collaborated with the Community Food Security Coalition of the USA to present a bi-national food security conference in Vancouver, BC. About 900 people attended this conference, half of them from Canada, a witness to the growing interest in food security and the strength of the movement across the continent. A new Steering Committee was elected, and the working paper groups were asked to revise their papers according to members’ feedback. These have now been adopted as FSC Working Papers. It was also agreed to join the International Alliance Against Hunger and to support a continued moratorium on Terminator Technology.
Food Secure Canada was formally instituted as a non-profit organization in October, 2006. The new Steering Committee agreed that the Assemblies should be held every other year, recognizing the financial and particularly the climate cost of cross-country travel.
Reclaiming Our Food System: A Call to Action
The 5th Assembly of Food Secure Canada was held in Ottawa November 7-10, 2008, in collaboration with FoodNet Ontario. In addition to 5 plenary sessions and 25 workshops (in boht official languages), the more than 300 participants discussed an action plan and agreed to support the People's Food Policy Project as a key activity for the coming two years.
The next Food Secure Canada Assembly will be held in November, 2010.
For more information on these gatherings, go to Past Assemblies.