Federal government commits to creation of national school food program
CBC
The federal government says it will launch a national school food program, hoping to deliver meals to an additional 400,000 children per year.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland made the announcement during an event in Toronto on Monday, the latest in a series of public appearances by the prime minister and his cabinet ministers ahead of the federal budget planned for April 16.
"We all want kids to have the best start in life, including the most vulnerable," Trudeau said during the event.
"When a kid walks up before class and says 'I'm hungry,' it means we all have more work to do as a school community and as a country."
The federal government will spend $1 billion over five years to implement the program. That figure mirrors a 2021 campaign promise made by the governing Liberals.
Freeland said the government hoped to have the program in place for the 2024-2025 school year.
Canada is the only G7 country that does not have a national school food program, according to the Breakfast Club of Canada. Advocates have argued that a national program is needed to fill gaps left by a patchwork of provincial, local and charitable programs that are under strain due to low resources and high food prices.
"Canadian families are struggling. With inflation pushing food prices to stratospheric levels, we know that a national school food program would help children and youth access nutritious food, which would then support their mental health, behaviour and study habits," Debbie Field, co-ordinator of the Coalition for Healthy School Food, said in a Feb. 27 media statement.
The school food program is not one of the policy provisions set out under the Liberal-NDP supply-and-confidence deal, which has seen the New Democrats support the government in key votes for two years. But the NDP recently called for the federal government to implement a program.
"Parents are doing everything they can to take care of their kids, but the cost of food just keeps going up," NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said in a media statement last month. "In a country as rich as ours, no child should ever have to go to school hungry."
In a post on social media on Monday, Singh referred to the program as a "demand" of his party.
Provinces have jurisdiction over education in Canada. Trudeau said Monday the government would work with provinces, territories and Indigenous partners on implementing the program, including through augmentations to existing policies.
Trudeau defended a series of measures to which the government committed significant monetary resources — such as pharmacare, dental care and child care programs — even as it commits to fiscal responsibility in the upcoming budget.
Last December, Conservatives voted against a private member's bill that would have established a national framework for a school food program.
When Aiden O’Halloran was in Grade 6, he was getting 80s on his math tests, learning fractions, angles and double-digit addition, and keeping up with his class with targeted support.
Nicole Wiercinski says being able to move into her own home in time for the holidays “feels like a dream come true.”
A group of five Liberal MPs and a lone NDP parliamentarian are planning to spend three days in Israel and the occupied West Bank, at a time of heightened tensions between Ottawa and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
A commercial real estate developer well known for his philanthropic work, along with a ratepayers group and a local refugee shelter, are floating a plan to transform 10 vacant houses in a tony north Toronto neighbourhood into temporary homes for low income families.
Heavy snowfall is set to continue in the London region through Sunday, with some areas expected to receive upwards of 40 centimetres in total by the time the system moves out.
A staple of Water Street is closing its doors in downtown St. John's.
Cool temperatures and sufficient snowfall have combined to helped some Maritime ski hills add a few extra days of business to this year's season.
A Winnipeg-based rabbi says the local Jewish community must stand together in the wake of a deadly attack on a Hanukkah celebration in Australia on Sunday.
More than half of Alberta adults say they would support eliminating provincial funding for private schools if the issue went to a referendum, a recent survey suggests.
The receding of floodwaters in Abbotsford, B.C., has led officials to reopen Highway 1 and downgrade some evacuation orders, though more rain is expected across the Fraser Valley and other parts of the province.
When she flew home to Edmonton from Mexico this month, Mahala Swisterski says she and her husband breathed a sigh of relief as they boarded the plane.
Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc says the door is open for American officials to restart trade talks with Canada, but the next time for direct engagement on trade will likely be when the North American free trade agreement begins its review process next month.
A winter storm rolling through the Maritimes is expected to impact much of P.E.I. on Sunday, with the system continuing to bring snow and blustery conditions into Monday.