Government of Ontario Buy Local Food Act, 2010 Horwath, Andrea — Bill 108 (39th Parliament, 2nd Session)

Bill 108, 39-2

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Bill 108, Government of Ontario Buy Local Food Act, 2010

Horwath, Andrea

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[39] Bill 108 Original (PDF)

Bill 108 2010

An Act to require ministries of the Government of Ontario

to buy local, local organic or local sustainable food

Her

Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

Interpretation

1. In

this Act,

"local"

means food that is processed or unprocessed for which at least 80 per cent of

the direct costs of production are returned to Ontario's economy; ("aliments

locaux")

"local organic" means food that is local and for which,

(

a) the

production does not involve synthetic fertilizer, synthetic pesticides,

synthetic growth regulators, synthetic allopathic veterinary drugs, synthetic

processing substances, cloned farm animals, genetically engineered materials or

products, or intentionally manufactured nano-technology products, and

(

b) the

packaging does not contain synthetic fungicide; ("aliments biologiques locaux")

"local sustainable" means food that is local and for which the

production meets standards of environmental and social sustainability

prescribed by regulation. ("aliments locaux durables")

Application

2. This

Act applies to a ministry of the Government of Ontario in each year that the

ministry is likely to spend more than $25,000 on food.

Duty to buy local, local organic or local sustainable

(1) When

a ministry subject to this Act buys food, it shall buy local, local organic or

local sustainable, except where the cost of doing so is more than 10 per cent

higher than the cost of buying food that is not local, local organic or local

sustainable.

Same

(2) For the purposes of complying with subsection (1), a

ministry shall assess the cost of food on a purchase by purchase basis.

Application

(3) This

section applies beginning in the first calendar

year after this Act comes into force and continues to apply in subsequent

calendar years in addition to sections 4, 5 and 6.

Requirements beginning 2012

4. In

each calendar year beginning January 1, 2012 and ending December 31, 2014, a

ministry subject to this Act shall ensure that, despite

section 3, at least 10

per cent of its total expenditure on food is on food that is local.

Requirements beginning 2015

5. In

each calendar year beginning January 1, 2015 and ending December 31, 2019, a

ministry subject to this Act shall ensure that, despite

section 3,

(

a) at

least 15 per cent of its total expenditure on food is on food that is local;

and

(

b) at

least 5 per cent of its total expenditure on food is on food that is local

organic or local sustainable.

Requirements beginning 2020

6. In

each calendar year beginning January 1, 2020 and in each calendar year after

that, a ministry subject to this Act shall ensure that, despite

section 3,

(

a) at

least 20 per cent of its total expenditure on food is on food that is local; and

(

b) at

least 10 per cent of its total expenditure on food is on food that is local

organic or local sustainable.

Annual reporting

7. In

each calendar year beginning with the first calendar year after this Act comes

into force, the Minister responsible for each ministry subject to this Act

shall, by April 1 of the following calendar year,

(

a) prepare

a report containing information about its food purchases; and

(

b) lay

the report before the Assembly.

Regulations

(1) The

Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations prescribing environmental

and social sustainability food production standards for the purpose of

determining what constitutes local sustainable under

section 1.

Considerations

(2) In making a regulation under subsection (1), the

Lieutenant Governor in Council may consider environmental and social

sustainability practices that:

1. Reduce

or eliminate the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers.

2. Avoid

the use of hormones, antibiotics and genetic engineering.

3. Conserve

soil and water.

4. Provide

safe and fair working conditions for on-farm labour.

5. Provide

healthy and humane care for livestock.

6. Protect

and enhance wildlife habitat and biodiversity on working farm landscapes.

7. Reduce

on-farm energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

Commencement

9. This Act comes into force on the day it

receives Royal Assent.

Short title

10. The

short title of this Act is the Government of Ontario Buy Local

Food Act, 2010 .

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The

Bill requires ministries of the Government of Ontario that spend more than

$25,000 on food in a year to buy food that is local, local organic or local

sustainable, except where the cost of doing so is more than 10 per cent higher

than the cost of buying food that is not local, local organic or local

sustainable.

The

Bill also requires that, beginning in 2012 and increasing in 2015 and again in

2020, ministries subject to the Act spend a certain minimum percentage of their

total annual food expenditures on local and local organic or local sustainable

food, regardless of the cost of doing so.

Date Bill stage Activity Committee

September 23, 2010

First Reading

Carried

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Document details

Collection	Ontario — Bills
Citation	Bill 108, 39-2
Type	bill
Volume / chapter	p39 s2 bill 108 html
Language	en
Format	html
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	f2f3118a5998edc109dc17b383b8a53db0ad512a

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