Basic Income as a Tool for Mobilzing a Resilient Food System in Canada (funded by Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Connection Grant)

This project brings together food systems stakeholders from key sectors to share perspectives on basic income as a tool for enhancing food systems resilience in Canada. The project team includes the academics and community organizations engaged in Coalition Canada's Case for Basic Income Series and in particular the cases for agriculture, fisheries, and food security. Read our recent Conversation Canada article on this topic.

Convening the Food Movement in Manitoba for Equitable and Resilient Food Security Policy Responses Now and Beyond COVID-19 (funded by Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Partnership Engage Grant) - with co-investigator Joyce Slater.

The goal of this project is to examine how the pandemic has affected vulnerabilities in Manitoba’s food systems, and how food movements in the province can mobilize for effective and equitable food security policy responses now and beyond COVID-19. Read our latest article on COVID-19 and lessons learned for resilience in Manitoba's food systems.

Exploring Food and Fishery Systems in the Lake Superior Watershed (funded by Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Insight Development Grant) - with co-investigator Charles Levkoe.

This project works with First Nations, non-profit organizations and small business to better understand and map the connections between fisheries and local food systems. Using a participatory action research methodology, it uses food systems as a lens to broaden the scope of fisheries by integrating a range of interdependent dimensions (including geographical, political, economic, policy, food security and nutrition, sustainability) that interact around sustainable fisheries. Our findings bring attention to the larger sets of actors and voices that are essential to the future of sustainable fisheries and most marginalized within existing approaches, including those of Indigenous peoples, civil society, and social movements. Read our latest article on fish consumption advisories and environmental justice.

Food Sovereignty and Fisheries Governance in Batchewana First Nation (funded by Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Partnership Engage Grant) - with co-investigator Charles Levkoe. https://www.batchewanaungfish.ca/

This project is exploring traditional fisheries governance in Batchewana First Nation (BFN) in support of food sovereignty and reconciliation. Working in partnership with the community, this project is documenting fisheries knowledge and governance systems to support BFN’s ongoing management of lands and waters in their territory. Ultimately, the project aims to contribute to the relationship building among Batchewana First Nation, the province of Ontario, and the wider public that is vital for reconciliation and developing equitable governance relationships on Lake Superior.

A main output is a video documentary, Lake Superior Our Helper: Stories from Batchewanaung Anishinabek Fisheries, produced in collaboration with BFN and Sarah Furlotte of 48th Parallel Productions. Lake Superior Our Helper follows Chief Dean Sayers through a series of conversations with community members to reveal the cultural, political, and ecological relationships surrounding their fisheries.