I, and my BC Green caucus colleagues, have been canvassing initiatives on innovation from various government ministries in question period this week.
There are so many opportunities for the provincial government to grow our economy through unleashing the creative power of British Columbians if we take tangible steps to embrace innovation.
Today, I asked Hon. Lana Popham, Minister of Agriculture what programs her Ministry is taking to support the investors, entrepreneurs and change-makers across the province.
[Transcript]
A. Olsen:
To continue our theme of embracing innovation to drive economic prosperity in British Columbia, I’d like to canvass a few issues with the Minister of Agriculture on her birthday. Happy birthday, Minister.
Last week, the European Union voted for an extensive ban on single-use plastics. Plastic straws and plastic bags are already being banned in various jurisdictions right here in Canada. As we move away from plastics, sustainable bioproducts are taking their place. We see examples of innovation happening around the province.
In Revelstoke, a brewery is using bread from a recovery program to make new brew. Victoria is home to Abeego, a successful operation making reusable food wraps from beeswax. Enterra Feed Corporation is using food waste to feed flies and using the resulting fly larvae to create animal feed. The list goes on.
There’s so much opportunity for us to be encouraging innovation, to be encouraging farmers to develop bioproducts. The world is quickly changing, and alternatives to plastics are going to only increase in demand.
My question is to the Minister of Agriculture. We have an opportunity to position B.C. as a leader in bioproducts, but only if government leans in to support this innovation. What concrete steps is the minister taking to support the development of alternative bioproducts in our agricultural sector?
Hon. L. Popham:
Thanks to my colleague for the question. It is an exciting time in agriculture. When you travel the province and meet farmers who are embracing innovation, you know that the possibilities are endless. We have just signed a new five-year Canadian agricultural partnership with the federal government. This comes with a $14 million agri-innovation program. This program will support projects relating to research and development, pilot and demonstration, and commercialization and adoption. It is an exciting time.
The member mentioned a few projects. I also have stumbled upon a few really cool projects myself. There’s a duck and chicken farm up in Kamloops operated by young farmers that have launched a pilot project using flies to feed their poultry. They’re using this as an alternative to food pellets. This is replacing three tonnes of food waste every week from nearby restaurants. Just in Delta, where my critic’s riding is, there is a dairy farm that’s turning animal and food waste into biofuel and moving that fuel into the Fortis grid. Then lastly, in the Fraser Valley, where the Speaker resides, there’s a land-based aquaculture operation that uses food waste to generate insect protein, which they then use to feed their coho stock. So I’m as excited as the member is about innovation, and I look forward to future discussions about that.
Mr. Speaker:
Member for Saanich North and the Islands on a supplemental.
A. Olsen:
Thank you to the minister for the response. There was a time not too long ago that Vancouver Island produced 100 percent of its food. Fifty years ago, we produced about 90 percent of the food that we consumed. Now we import roughly 90 percent of our food.
With climate change, disruptions in the global food network are increasing. Costs of transportation and drought are just two challenges facing food security, an issue that I know the minister is passionate about. But it’s not just growing more food that we need. In Canada, 30 percent of our food goes uneaten, and $31 billion is wasted every year.
Approximately 18 percent of food waste happens at the manufacturing level. This is a huge opportunity for innovation to address both food waste and food security. We have opportunities to encourage more food processing facilities to help local farmers. My question is to the Minister of Agriculture: what is the ministry doing to address the lack of food processing here on Vancouver Island and across British Columbia?
Hon. L. Popham:
It must be my birthday, because that’s the best question ever. I am proud to say that in my mandate letter from the Premier, one of the things that I’m addressing is the capacity of our food processing. Up until now, we are one of the only provinces in Canada that wasn’t a home to a food innovation centre. We’re working hard, with partners, to see that a success in the near future, but there is a lot more that we can be doing. Food processing is a value-added part of agriculture, and it also would address things such as waste.
I can tell you that the member is exactly right. We are producing less food than we use, and we’re depending more on imports than we ever have in British Columbia. We need to address this for many reasons. One of them is climate change resilience. Food security is a hot topic right around the world, and I am concerned about that.
Mr. Speaker:
Thank you, Minister.
Hon. L. Popham:
But there are some successes as well, Mr. Speaker. Because it’s my birthday, can I just talk about one?
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