Evidence of meeting #41 for Finance in the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was services.
A video is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Tamara Kronis Conservative Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC
This is actually a question that I'd like each of you to answer with a yes or a no.
We hear consistently that this is a problem that is growing, that it is accelerating. Do you think we've hit bottom, or do you think the trend is going to continue to get worse? I'd just like a yes or a no from each of you.
Director, Policy and Community Action, Right To Food
Most food-insecure individuals don't access food banks, so the answer is this: No, we're going to see it continue.
Chief Executive Officer, Daily Bread Food Bank
You're going to see the severity increase and the population maintain.
National Executive Director, Celiac Canada
I would say the same. Celiac disease is growing, so we will see more pressures.
Co-Founder, Director for Governmental Relations, Breakfast Club of Canada
No, it's not going to stop, because we are two or three years behind the statistics.
Conservative
Tamara Kronis Conservative Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC
Ms. Secord, when you have a dietary disability or a disability that is affected by diet, how much worse is it, and how much harder is it in terms of variety, access and location?
National Executive Director, Celiac Canada
It is tough.
I will clarify that it doesn't qualify for the new disability program. We were actually removed from that program, so we have this terrible medical expense tax claim. I'll just make that caveat.
For people with celiac disease, it has improved over the years because of the fad diet. There is more choice out there, but it's more expensive. A lot of the products do have a lot of sugars and extra fat to make them taste really good. A lot of families with kids just want their children to have access to breads and cereals like everybody else, just to feel regular, but when it's $10 per loaf and the loaf is half as large, or cereals—
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Karina Gould
Thank you, Ms. Secord. We're going to have to end it there.
Thank you, Ms. Kronis.
Conservative
Liberal
Liberal
Kent MacDonald Liberal Cardigan, PE
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thanks to the witnesses.
I want to start by talking about the national school food program. In March 2026, the government enshrined it in a law, so it's a guaranteed support going forward. We did that because of people like you, who have been advocating to get away from the budgetary cycles of government and put a firm commitment in place.
Ms. Barry, I read your recommendations. We can do more. We obviously have to do that responsibly. I like the idea that there is a connection—and you spoke to it—between healthy children and healthy outcomes in their future. You also spoke about the investment, that it's a very small investment to have those good outcomes in the future.
I recently toured a school in my riding, grades 1 to 12, with Secretary Gainey. The biggest lesson I learned that day was about the autonomy within the school to run its own program. It was community-driven, with two local employees running the cafeteria at Souris Regional School. I was really impressed that they had a pay-what-you-can model there. I'm not saying that works for every school. However, in their situation and their community, it worked well, because nobody knew who was getting help or who wasn't getting help. It was just rolled out, and the students got their meals.
In P.E.I., there are 5,000 meal orders per day, on average, through the school food program. It includes about 30 staff across the island. It includes chefs and dietitians. Some of the food is prepared in the schools; some more of the food is outsourced to local restaurants and food hubs. It involves the agricultural community in always sourcing food locally. I think those are all goals that you laid out.
Can you speak to those partnerships that the Breakfast Club of Canada has established with Canadian food companies? I'm from the dairy sector, so I know that you have a partnership with Danone. Can you speak to how the partnerships work?
Co-Founder, Director for Governmental Relations, Breakfast Club of Canada
Visiting a school breakfast program is essential to witness the great work of communities. For one dollar invested, two dollars are returned in society, and that is not taking into account those outcomes that can't be measured, so to speak, such as the integration of local food, such as the creation of a caring, inclusive and safe environment within the schools.
What you've just mentioned is really important. We believe that some student nutrition practitioners, like Breakfast Club of Canada and many others in eastern Canada and elsewhere in Canada, have built strong connections with the agri-food sector. They've had some great influence with these partners, because these collaborations have been really respectful of the ecosystem.
The objective is not to offer prepackaged food or to label any of those products. The objective is to nourish students with local, nutritious food that is not only meeting the Canadian food guide but also meeting provincial nutrition standards. We're really picky in how we're selecting that food and how we're trying to influence the food industry partners in creating new recipes to ensure, first of all, that the students will appreciate the food and will want to eat it, and, second, that the students will be well fed, well nourished and will have their energy sustained during the day.
This is really how we're trying to influence while creating food hubs and group purchasing models to optimize the dollar and ensure that we can make some economy of scale, which is absolutely necessary because funding is insufficient. These are the clear collaborations that are going on, and we welcome any other partners, communities and farmers to be part of that solution.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Karina Gould
Thank you, Mr. MacDonald. That concludes your time.
Five minutes fly by.
We will now conclude with Mr. Barsalou‑Duval of the Bloc Québécois.
Mr. Barsalou‑Duval, you have the floor for two and a half minutes.
Bloc
Xavier Barsalou-Duval Bloc Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Ms. Barry, I haven't had the opportunity to ask you certain questions. I'll ask them all at once, given the time remaining.
I believe I understood that you were advocating for a universal school meal model. You have the opportunity to clarify this.
First of all, are you more in favour of a universal model, specifically? Or do you prefer a targeted model, for example, one that prioritizes disadvantaged communities?
Next, we are obviously in favour of school food programs. It is important that no children go hungry in the morning if we want to ensure their future development.
How can we ensure, for example, that federal programs and the funding the federal government provides are not designed in a way that interferes with the jurisdictions of the Government of Quebec and other provinces? The goal is to avoid adding administrative burdens or red tape. None of that is necessary.
Co-Founder, Director for Governmental Relations, Breakfast Club of Canada
Thank you very much for your questions.
I can answer these questions by telling you about our fourth recommendation. I didn't have time to discuss it with you earlier. We believe it is important, within the framework of the national school food program, to establish multidimensional coordination mechanisms involving all levels of government, various sectors of society and certain departments in order to create a foundation and a clear vision of the system's universality.
For now, we can only prioritize disadvantaged communities or schools that have organized themselves to meet their students' needs on their own. We support this ecosystem. We believe that in Canada, just as international models and best practices demonstrate, it is important to eventually aim for universality.
That said, funding is insufficient, and we must indeed start by prioritizing communities and needs.
We really need to create a form of sustainable funding. It is truly important to establish a clear vision, supported by governance structures that will engage all sectors and enable interconnections and monitoring of results.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Karina Gould
Thank you, Ms. Barry.
Thank you, Mr. Barsalou‑Duval.
On behalf of the committee, I would like to thank our witnesses for their time and for appearing today.
The committee is adjourned. Thank you.