"If I were the next Prime Minister" runner-up: "I would...promote urban farming and homesteading"
If I were the next Prime Minister, I would remove the red tape surrounding urban farming and urban homesteading in cities across the country.
I would create grants and programs for municipalities to develop otherwise underdeveloped lands that could be used for agricultural purposes. Fields, such as those below power lines, would be repurposed to allow for the growing of shared community crops.
The newly created gardens would be maintained by low-income individuals and families as well as non-government organizations (NGO\'s) and community groups committed to the production of food for food banks, soup kitchens and the aforementioned low-income individuals and families.
Schools would also be eligible for funding if they convert some of their fields into agricultural land that can be used in their cafeterias. Students would learn to maintain the land as well as learn about the benefits of eating locally grown foods.
Cities and municipalities that permit the raising of small livestock (chickens, goats, etc.) would receive further access to funds, as would their residents, so that Canadians could produce affordable, locally grown, organic food, all the while reducing harmful carbon emissions associated with the transportation of food.
-Christopher Collier
