Thanksgiving is over, but turkey is still on the menu at Province House. Tomorrow a group of “concerned Nova Scotians dedicated to ensuring Food Sovereignty” will present a petition of over 3,000 signatures to the legislature.
The move comes from what some are calling “questionable actions” by Minister of Agriculture Keith Colwell and the actual-thing-that-exists Nova Scotia Turkey Producers Marketing Board. In the last couple months, the NSTPMB has been cracking down on small-scale abattoirs that aren’t registered with the board. Colwell has claimed it’s a health and safety issue.
That’s probably true. Certainly, bigger, federally-inspected facilities like Maple Leaf don’t have health problems. But at least one of these turkey processors was operating for 36 years, seemingly without too many deaths.
The Food Sovereignty for All Nova Scotians (FSANS) group also takes issue with the Natural Products Act, which they say needs to be amended or discarded completely.
“It is draconian in nature and allows for excessive bureaucratic control,” the group’s press release reads. “There is no tolerance for this kind of archaic document in a free and democratic country such as Canada.”
Concerned citizens can join in with the presentation of the petition tomorrow at 2 pm, or check out @FSNovaScotia for more details.
