National

Liberals plan talks to launch school food program before end of next school year

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 20 Jun, 2024 11:15 AM

Families Minister Jenna Sudds says the government hopes to see kids getting meals from the national school food program before the end of the next school year, but it will take time for organizations to scale up their operations.

The Liberals set aside $1 billion over five years for the program, which they promised during the 2021 election campaign.

Sudds says the deals will be similar in nature to the child-care agreements the government signed with provinces and territories to lower the cost of daycare.

Our National School Food Policy is an important stepping stone in ensuring that children don’t have to learn on an empty stomach. 🍏🍎

Here’s what you need to know! pic.twitter.com/d1QiFpMk5e
— Jenna Sudds (@JennaSudds) June 20, 2024

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the new policy that will guide those negotiations at a press conference in Nova Scotia today.

The school food program will largely rely on existing organizations that already feed kids, and it's aimed at eliminating stigma.

Sudds says that means lunch, breakfast or snack programs should be available to all the children in a school.

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

Audit finds 800 items missing from Canadian history museum, no plan to deal with it

The auditor's team was particularly concerned that there was no robust way of managing the inventory. The audit found the corporation did such a poor job keeping tabs on those objects that more than 800 were declared missing during inventory inspections between 2012 and 2022.

Audit finds 800 items missing from Canadian history museum, no plan to deal with it

Fire engulfs Surrey housing complex

At least 20 Surrey residents spent the night out of their homes -- and some could be out for much longer -- after flames tore through a housing complex in that city's Clayton neighbourhood. Surrey Fire Service deputy chief Shelley Morris says four homes have been destroyed and as many as four more are damaged after flames from a garage fire spread quickly.

Fire engulfs Surrey housing complex

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and family heading to B.C. on vacation this week

The PMO is not specifying where they will be staying, but says they are set to return to Ottawa on Aug. 18. Trudeau and his wife of 18 years, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, announced last week that they are separating but that they still plan to spend time together as a family

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and family heading to B.C. on vacation this week

Hawaiian wildfires delay flight to British Columbia

A statement from the air carrier said the most recent scheduled flight from Maui to Vancouver was cancelled as access to the airport was closed. It also said a larger, and empty, plane lifted off from Vancouver Wednesday evening, bound for the island, to pick up the stranded passengers and those booked on the next regularly scheduled flight.

Hawaiian wildfires delay flight to British Columbia

Former Conservative senator, longtime politico Hugh Segal dead at 72

In 1962, then-prime minister John Diefenbaker visited Hugh Segal's school in Montreal to present the principal with a copy of the newly minted Canadian Bill of Rights. So impressed was Segal with Dief's description of Canada as a country that was open, free, democratic and based on the presumption of innocence that, at the tender age of 12, he became a lifelong Conservative.

Former Conservative senator, longtime politico Hugh Segal dead at 72

Province to update wildfire, drought in B.C., as new heat wave approaches

Wildfire crews across British Columbia are keeping a close eye on the backcountry after recent lightning storms raised the potential for smouldering fires to erupt as the next hot spell arrives this weekend.