THUNDER BAY – “It just feels extra special this year to celebrate our country,” Thunder Bay–Superior North MP Patty Hajdu said.
The federal minister of jobs and families staged a meet-and-greet community barbecue at Roots Community Food Centre (formerly known as Roots to Harvest) on Tuesday to celebrate Canada Day.
As a federal politician, Hajdu has travelled to many parts of the country over the last 11 years.
She says each region has a unique aspect when it comes to celebrating Canada Day.
“You talked about the Far North. If you’ve never been there, it’s hard to imagine that we’re part of the same country. Same thing if you go to the East Coast. It’s in some ways a completely different culture, but there’s a thing that binds us, and that is this nature of being Canadian and of being part of this incredible project called Canada,” Hajdu said.
She said she chose Roots because it’s a great community centre.
“It’s an area that has been heavily invested in by many different federal agencies. In fact, I was just meeting with the executive director, Erin Beagle, and she said the majority of the equipment has been funded through federal sources,” Hajdu said.
Currently, Roots has eight summer students tending the garden and working various jobs at the facility.
“We run a number of programs with Roots to Harvest by funding the many different ways that they’re working with young people to develop job skills. They’ve been recipients of the Green Infrastructure Fund. They have solar panels on the roof. They have storage facilities for the produce that they grow,” she said.
One Roots program Hajdu highlighted was their school food program. Roots partners with the city’s school boards to make healthy, nutritious local food available.
“Local food is a big component of the school food program, and ensuring local food gets used in schools as a way to integrate our own agricultural community and sector into the National Food School Program,” she said.
