Thank you, Minister, for coming today.
I was very happy to see that your mandate has the commitment to develop a national school food policy and a national school nutritious meal program.
My wife is a retired public school teacher, and she has seen all too often that for many children, their school is the only time or place where they get a healthy meal. Many schools have developed programs on an ad hoc basis, but they do not also have neighbourhood associations to support these programs.
In my riding of Newmarket—Aurora, for example, Frank Stronach, the founder of Magna International, is developing the GUHAH Way, which stands for growing up healthy and happy, as a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting healthy eating for children. I know he's eager to see that he is able to support, if possible, rolling out the program.
This is a very real issue, and I feel it's important, since one out of 10 families and children across Canada would benefit from these programs.
Minister, could you speak about how the program is being developed and how other organizations might also be able to get involved?