Nova Scotia has a clear 'buy local' goal, but doesn't know where it's starting from
Agriculture minister says it's unclear how much people are already buying locally
The Houston government wants shoppers filling up their grocery carts with more items that have been grown, processed or caught in the province, with 20 per cent of the money spent by Nova Scotians on food going toward local products by 2030.
Trouble is, there's no clear starting point, according to the minister charged with the task.
During the line-by-line examination of his departmental budget this week, Agriculture Minister Greg Morrow said it's not known how much Nova Scotians are currently buying from the local market.
He told the sub-committee on estimates his department was working with a number of figures.
"Seven per cent being one of them," said Morrow. "I've heard as high as 15 [per cent].
"That's one of the things that we in the department are trying to do right now, is nail down a firm number so that we have a baseline metric to work from."
Liberal MLA seeks more info
During that committee meeting, Liberal MLA Brendan Maguire said without a firm starting point, it's hard to determine how ambitious the government's target of 20 per cent is.
"Is this tripling the amount of food that's being produced and purchased in Nova Scotia, or is it [a] one per cent increase?" he asked Morrow.
Speaking after his committee appearance, Morrow told CBC News that staff in his department were consulting with major retailers to try to confirm how much locally produced food Nova Scotians are buying.
"It's very tough," he said. It's a bit of an arduous process. There are a lot of different components that go into determining it.
"We just want to make sure that we get the right number for when we move forward so that we're comparing apples to apples."
Morrow said he should have that figure later this spring.
"Once we have that, we will be happy to share it," he said. "And I can assure you that nobody's more excited to hear that number than I am."
Morrow called the 20 per cent goal "attainable," but couldn't fully explain how it was originally set.
In the PC election platform, the Tories promised "a 10 per cent shift in demand towards Nova Scotia products."
"This 10 per cent would grow the GDP of Nova Scotia by roughly $1.4 billion, which itself would lead to thousands of jobs," said the platform.
Morrow called the 20 per cent target a starting point.
"I mean, in an ideal world, we'd be at 100 per cent, but we have to start somewhere," he said.
Better awareness, selection of items
The minister said his department was already working on the plan to meet that target. He described it broadly as "getting consumers more aware of what products are produced locally," and "getting more of those products in our stores."
The strategy would include more "Buy Local" stickers on products and extra promotional material in store and on flyers.
Morrow said the goal was to give Nova Scotians every incentive to buy local.
"It reduces shipping and transportation costs, so that should lower the price. It lowers the environmental footprint. And it supports our farmers who are putting great products out there," he said.