User:Oceanflynn/sandbox/BILL C-290 An Act respecting soil conservation and soil health

Bill C-290 Soil Conservation Act is a is a private members bill respecting soil conservation and soil health that was introduced in the House of Commons by Alistair MacGregor MP for Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, British Columbia and had its first reading on April 26, 2021 during the 2nd Session, of the 43rd Parliament.

Summary
C-290 if enacted would involve the development of a national conservation strategy to improve soil health by the department of agriculture and agri-food. The bill also calls for the establishment of December 5 as Canada's "World Soil Day" and the third week in April as "National Soil Conservation Week."

McGregor is the New Democratic Party shadow cabinet critic for Agriculture and Agri-food, and the vice-chair of the parliamentary standing committee on Agriculture and Agri-food. During the 42nd Canadian Parliament, of the three private member bills he sponsored, none reached second reading stage. One of them was Bill C-430 which he introduced on February 21, 2019 regarding a proposed amendment to the Income Tax Act to establish a tax credit for organic farming.

Preamble
Some of the factors that led to the introduction of C-290 include the way in which the agricultural sector as been adversely affected by "changing weather patterns" related to climate change, including, high precipitation and drought frequency.

In the preamble, MacGregor said that there are existing agricultural methodologies that can regenerate agricultural systems, which include improving the health of the soil. Regenerative farm management can "sequester carbon, increase soil health, and reduce soil erosion." He said that the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization adopted the World Food Charter and that Canada is an FAO member. The FAO World Food Charter called on its member nations to "adopt measures in relation to soil health and conservation."

On December 20, the Sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly recognizing December 5 as World Soil Day and declared 2015 as the International Year of Soil (IYS 2015). On December 5, 2014, the first "World Soil Day" was celebrated. During IYS 2015, the International Union of Soil Scientists proclaimed 2015-2024 the International Decade of Soils. The National Research Council of Canada has been a member since 1919.

The Canadian federal government made a commitment to increase public awareness of health soil through its Canadian Agricultural Partnership, which helps "farmers adapt to climate change and conserve water and soil."

Content
Among other changes, the act would call on the department to promote agricultural land management that improve "soil health and sustainability". This includes supporting relevant scientific research to provide evidence on best practices for developing and implementing "regenerative soil management" and Indigenous knowledge and soil stewardship. To development appropriate educational and communication systems to support and encourage the use of these practices. It also supports the incorporation of principles of regenerative soil management into public policy when appropriate.

Bill C-203
MacGregor introduced Bill C-203 on November 30, 2021.