Frederic Serre
The Advocate
Outspoken Ontario Senator Rob Black is calling on the new Liberal government to declare soil a national asset that is essential to the well-being and health of Canadians.
Black made the announcement the day after Mark Carney’s April 28 election as prime minister and one year after the Senate Standing Committee on Agriculture and Forestry, which Black is a member of, released its report on the state of Canadian soils and the issues faced by farmers and producers.
In its report, Critical Ground: Why Soil is Essential to Canada’s Economic, Environmental, Human and Social Health, the committee proposed 25 recommendations for Ottawa to better protect, preserve and conserve Canadian soils by supporting farmers through financing and programs. The report, which took two years to compile with on-site tours and presentations from farmers, ranchers, research scientists and government officials, recommends that the federal government appoint a national soil advocate.
While the former Trudeau government told Black it supported the recommendations, he says it’s now time for the new government to take action.
As the previous chair of the Senate’s Agriculture and Forestry committee, Black is “calling on the government of Canada to show its commitment to protecting and conserving Canadian soils by fulfilling the first recommendation, and designate soil as a strategic national asset.”
“Farmers, scientists, researchers and stakeholders all agree that the critical ground we need to support our country is at risk and we need to act,” Black said.
According to Black, Canada’s federal election candidates made numerous promises related to infrastructure and the building of more homes, but he says “these promises may need to be achieved by developing on prime agricultural farmland. This would take that land out of food production. Designating soil as a strategic national asset would help to ensure land use planning takes Canada’s soil health into account.”
“Climate change, extreme weather events and urbanization are degrading soil conditions in every region of this country,” said Black, who previously worked for the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture for 15 years. “We need to look at this strategically because it is an important issue.”
The study gathered information from more than 150 producers and considered 60 written briefs, along with supporting documents from soil science researchers, agronomists, farmers, ranchers, foresters, environmental organizations, agri-businesses, industry groups and federal, provincial and territorial governments to make its recommendations.