44th Parl. 1st Sess.
September 17, 2024 10:00AM
- Sep/17/24 6:20:08 p.m.
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moved that the bill be read the third time and passed.
He said: Madam Speaker, I would like to welcome all of my colleagues back to the House. I also want to thank my constituents in the riding of Acadie—Bathurst for their support over the past few years. I also want to acknowledge my parents, my family, my friends and my staff. I hope that Parliament's work will go well and that we will have good debates in the House.
Today, I am pleased to resume debate, if I can put it that way, on my bill. My bill proposes a national framework to establish a school food program.
A lot has happened since we last debated this bill in the House. In the last budget, the government invested $1 billion over the next five years to develop a school food program. In May, I had the pleasure and good fortune to welcome the Prime Minister, the Minister of Families and Children, the Minister of Public Safety, the Minister of Veterans Affairs and my colleague from Madawaska—Restigouche to my riding for a great announcement at my daughters' school, École Marguerite-Bourgeoys in Caraquet. That day, the Prime Minister announced the first phase of the school food program.
It was a wonderful day, with a lot of dignitaries and groups that have been involved for many years in preparing breakfasts, lunches and snacks for schools in my region. I would especially like to acknowledge the Fondation des petits déjeuners de la Péninsule acadienne, which provides services to many schools in my riding. Its members go into schools to provide healthy breakfasts for students. I would also like to acknowledge Alexis Légère, a young vegetable farmer who grows food at Marguerite-Bourgeoys school. A few years ago, the school gave him a parcel of land. His vegetables are used to prepare meals in collaboration with students at the school. I will talk more about that a little later.
Why is this bill important? We have talked about this many times already, but here are some examples. We know that there are a lot of children who go to school on an empty stomach. I do not think that, in 2024, it is acceptable for our children to go to school on an empty stomach. We have to do something about this situation. This is not new. In the 1980s, I was in grade 1. That was many years ago. I remember that some of my friends had nothing to eat in their lunch boxes. We have to address this problem. We have to help families and especially children by setting up a program like this so that they have healthy food in their lunch box every day.
To continue in the same vein, nearly one in five children say that they go to school or to bed hungry. Those are not good numbers. We need to improve those statistics. That is why a school food program will be very beneficial for these children.
We know that proper nutrition during childhood is very important for maintaining health and well-being and for achieving socio-economic success. If we want to give our children every opportunity to succeed at school, it starts with a healthy diet, with basic nutrition. If we do this, we will see that, in the years to come, the young people who have benefited from these programs will be successful on the job market. They will likely do better than many other young people who did not have access to such a program.
Many studies have shown that school programs act as social equalizers. We know that, today, discrimination and bullying are unfortunately part of our society. Often, we hear about kids at school who make fun of other kids who have nothing in their lunch box. Putting an end to this bullying or stigmatization will go a long way in helping our children to cope with these situations.
One final point is that Canada is one of the only member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development that does not have a school food program in place. A big, beautiful country like Canada cannot go without such a program any longer.
Once again, I want to acknowledge the efforts of our government, which provided the funds needed to launch a program of this kind in partnership with the provinces and territories. I hope that the provinces and territories will sign these bilateral agreements as soon as possible. A program like this has many benefits. I listed some of them earlier. These benefits are not limited to children. The program is good for families, for the parents of these children.
Let me talk about some of the benefits for children. A program like this is sure to significantly improve nutrition. As we know, school meals ensure that children receive at least one balanced meal a day. This could be breakfast, lunch or a snack, and it can go a long way toward offsetting the nutritional deficit that some children experience at home for various reasons.
Other benefits include better concentration at school. A child who is properly fed, whose needs are met and who shows up for school with a full belly has a much easier time getting through the day. Everyone here knows what long days are like. Even as adults, when we do not have time to eat properly, our concentration suffers. Imagine how hard it must be for a child in grade 1, 2, 4 or 5 who did not get anything to eat before school in the morning, or even during the day. How hard must it be for them to concentrate, to follow the teacher's instructions or even to keep up with their friends in the schoolyard at recess? A program like this one offers a lot of benefits.
Promoting healthy eating habits is another benefit. School food programs teach children the importance of good nutrition. I said earlier that I would talk a bit more about why I decided to make this announcement at my daughters' and stepson's school, Marguerite-Bourgeoys school in Caraquet. A few years ago, a young vegetable farmer decided to approach the school and ask if they could provide him with a small parcel of land where he could grow vegetables. It was not necessarily to supply the school cafeteria, but rather to show students the importance of farming, how to grow one's own vegetables and fruits, and how to eat well. One thing led to another, and this program has grown so much that the partnership between the farmer, the school and the students now provides almost 80% of all the fruit and vegetables for the meals served at the school.
This is being done with the students' participation. Every day, students take classes with the farmer. They grow tomatoes, cucumbers, blueberries and so on. They also help prepare the meals. What a wonderful idea to have a program like that in the school. Imagine how having an initiative like this in every school in Canada would help educate children about the benefits of good nutrition. At the same time, it would benefit local farmers. As we know, local produce is increasingly valued, especially in rural areas like mine. It would help a lot of local producers to be able to supply our schools by growing their fruit and vegetables as part of a program like this.
Reduced absenteeism is another benefit, and this has been proven. Countless studies show it. This greatly reduces the absentee rate among students. If they are not lucky enough to have a meal at home, students will go to school knowing that they will have a snack to help them get through their day. Many studies show that this is highly beneficial.
It is also about equality of opportunity. We know that all children, regardless of their parents' income or their family's income, should have the same chances. I think that in our society, the stigmatization of certain groups of people has to be eliminated, and we need to create equal chances for everyone. We need to have these types of programs.
Sometimes families may have a good income, but when both parents work, there may not necessarily be time in the morning to prepare lunches, snacks and so on. Having access to snacks or breakfast at school will be a big help to families and students.
For parents, too, this can have major benefits, such as reducing their financial burden. Free or subsidized meals can have a significant impact on family finances. We know that the cost of living is high right now and that some families are struggling. Having a little bit of help and not having to worry about providing meals or snacks for children will be extremely helpful for these families. As I said, it will save time for parents who sometimes do not have time to prepare meals. It will provide peace of mind too, as these examples show. It will encourage education when parents see their children doing well at school. Children get better marks at school. That goes a long way toward making children feel good about themselves, and it also helps parents when they see that they no longer have to worry about this burden or about struggling to feed their children.
These programs not only have a positive impact on children's health and development, they improve family dynamics and society as a whole. Many studies have shown that programs like this can be extremely beneficial. They boost nutrition and academic performance and have an impact on the local economy and agriculture.
They can also come with their share of challenges. For schools, obtaining healthy food can be a costly venture. We know that food costs have gone up. That is why the government presented a plan to provide $1 billion over the next five years. This assistance will help schools and various groups buy healthy food so they can provide students with meals. The quality of the meals is also important.
The fact that so many schools in Canada are located in remote or rural areas also presents a logistical challenge. That is why agreements will be signed with Canada's provinces and territories to move forward and provide them with additional funding to help them develop programs. I am very pleased that the first province has already signed a bilateral agreement with our government, and that is the province of Newfoundland. We hope that other provinces will follow suit, like my home province of New Brunswick. I hope that we will have serious discussions about the benefits of having a program like this in our schools.
This bill is close to my heart. It is important to me because I have in some way experienced some of these situations and challenges. I do not come from a wealthy family. We were lucky because we always had good meals. My parents always made meals and healthy eating a priority. However, over the course of my life, I have had friends who were not so lucky. Giving every child in Canada the opportunity to have access to a program like this, to not go to school hungry and to not have to worry that their parents or families lack the means to feed them properly is a good thing. I think this will do a world of good for all those people.
Once again, Canada is one of the only countries that does not have a program like this. It is time to set one up. The government has made a great deal of effort so far and has put a lot of money on the table to develop the program, but we need a framework so we can do this properly and follow the steps and look at things that are not working and things that will work a bit better. I am sure we will be able to make a lot of progress.
I am calling on my colleagues to please support my bill that will benefit every child in Canada.
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- Sep/17/24 6:39:16 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am incredibly appreciative to be here for this particular debate.
As we all know, we are the only G7 country that does not have a national school food program. Now, I never like to make this about me, but I have to share.
I was one of those parents who could not afford to keep healthy, nutritious food on the table for my children, and I would have loved to have given them healthier options when sending them to school, but I just could not afford it. I became an EA in the school district and worked directly in the schools, and I realized I was not alone. Too many children were showing up to school who were unable to learn effectively. They were having a hard time with relationships. The impacts were just tremendous on children of not having access to the food that they so desperately needed.
I then went on to work as a community school coordinator. I applied for programming and funding to get kids the essential programs and food that they needed and saw the difference in the kids when they had a healthy breakfast in the morning and when they had access to a lunch. I went on to become a school board trustee to fight for these school food programs across Canada. Now I am here.
I say this because I do not understand why it has taken us so long to get where we are now when children are hungry, and they are even worse off now today than they were before—
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- Sep/17/24 6:59:38 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, before I begin to discuss the important topic of making sure that kids do not go to school hungry in Canada, I would like to acknowledge that today Korean families across Canada are celebrating Chuseok. This is a time of year when Korean communities all over the world come together to celebrate and share a meal together. Today, as these families come together to watch the moon, share gifts and enjoy spending time with their loved ones, I would like to wish everyone celebrating this day with their families Chuseok jal bonaeseyo.
Celebrating and sharing food are fundamental parts of the well-being of any society.
The bill addresses the issue of the deficit among children in this country in terms of having a daily meal at school. Food insecurity among children is rising, and it affects today's generation of kids. Those same kids will also be affected in the future; a lack of food does not allow kids to get the best start possible.
As we navigate the challenges of rising food prices and increasing time and financial pressures on families, kids deserve protection. It is more important than ever to address the reality that no child in Canada should have to spend the day at school with an empty stomach.
Shamefully, Canada ranks 37th out of 41 of the wealthiest countries in the world for providing schoolchildren with nutritious food. What that means is that, of all 41 wealthy countries, Canada is number 37. The government is actually doing a bad job of making sure kids have food at school. This is because the government does not do it with purpose.
Although Canada is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, Conservatives and Liberals are incapable of making sure that our children are well fed and able to learn at school with a full tummy. That needs to change.
In committee, we heard how the bill would provide a necessary framework for the government to work in co-operation with the provinces, territories and indigenous governments to ensure that kids are fed at school and that no one spends the day in need of a meal.
I want to take a moment to give a shout-out to School District No. 43 in Coquitlam, which is already providing healthy and nutritious food for its students with a daily lunch delivery program. I thank all the administrators, parents and volunteers who make this happen.
I also want to recognize food programs run through School District No. 43 in Coquitlam by Share Family & Community Services, Access Youth and the Rotary Club, with their after-school backpack program.
I would also like to take a moment to acknowledge the Coquitlam Firefighters' nutritional snack food program, a fully inclusive program that provides thousands of meals per year to children experiencing or at risk of food insecurity. There is also the City of Port Moody, which led the coordinating of a food security round table in my riding and has given to the BC Chapter of the Coalition for Healthy School Food. I thank all of them.
It is obvious there is great work happening on the ground in schools and communities across this country, just as there is in Port Moody—Coquitlam. However, a more stable framework is needed to ensure that no child is left behind.
I want to take a moment here to thank my colleague from Winnipeg Centre, who is here today, on the important work they did in committee to make sure that this framework was fully inclusive and that it pushed through for the government. We know the government was not interested in feeding kids. It has been slow on its budget delivery of feeding kids in the school program. I just want to raise my hands to the member.
The NDP has always known that a national school food program is needed. That is why we used our power in this Parliament to force the Liberal government to take the steps needed to get a formal school food program into law. It has been budgeted, and it needs to roll out to Canadians immediately.
Conservatives will take away school food programs. They voted against a national school food program in the budget while they literally enjoyed their free lunch. They receive a free lunch right here in the House of Commons every single day. After eating their taxpayer-paid meal, they came in here and voted against feeding kids at school.
To the Liberals I say hurry up. The inaction we have seen from the current government is deeply disappointing. Since 2019, the Liberal government has made a promise to establish a national school food program. However, more than four years have passed and this promise remains unfulfilled for the majority of kids at school.
There are kids in our community today who were promised school food programs when they were in middle school, but they are now graduating with no program in place. The delay in implementing a national school food program is more than a policy lapse. It is a moral failure to act on a commitment to improve the lives of children and prepare them as best we can for their future.
This is a program supported by advocates across the country. They have long called for the development of a national school meal program. Organizations such as Food Banks Canada, the Breakfast Club of Canada, the Canadian Teachers' Federation and numerous local community groups have highlighted the urgent need for such a program. They agree that a national approach is necessary to address the systemic issues of food insecurity and ensure that all children can benefit from a consistent and reliable source of nutritious food when at school.
My NDP colleagues and I have been clear that any national school food program must be universal to avoid the stigmatization of children. Means testing cannot be part of any school food program. The program must focus on promoting healthy eating habits and supporting kids. It should also be culturally appropriate.
I recently had the opportunity to be invited to share some time with a school meal program led by Karen Butler Curtis from Port Coquitlam, an educator and food security expert. While I was there, I asked the children what was important to them with regard to a national school food program. They talked about the food they eat at home and the need for culturally appropriate foods for them. I promised them that I would raise this in the House of Commons, so today, from the kids at Queensborough Middle School, I will say that any national program must be culturally inclusive and must include principles of indigenous food sovereignty.
The NDP is fully committed to making the national school food program a reality. We will support this bill, as we supported the initiative the NDP pushed with the government, and we will hold the Liberal government accountable for fulfilling its promise to have a national school food program for kids. Our commitment goes beyond mere advocacy. We are dedicated to ensuring that the program is well designed, inclusive and effectively implemented. This means ensuring the government is collaborating with communities, health professionals, families, indigenous leaders and kids to create a program that meets the diverse needs of every Canadian child at school.
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