Human Resources Committee on Oct. 29th, 2026

[Sue Lewis]

I didn't catch your whole question.

[Natilien Joseph, Liberal, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Mr. Chair, may I repeat my question?

If so, please keep an eye on my speaking time.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Yes.

[Natilien Joseph, Liberal, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Ms. Lewis, my question was: How is the federal government working with the provinces, territories and indigenous partners to ensure the effective implementation of the program and to build on the initiatives already in place?

[Sue Lewis]

I think the last part of your question is also the answer. There are very good programs already taking place on the ground. The support of the federal government from a financial point of view will help strengthen those programs and expand them.

As Dr. Engler-Stringer also said, there needs to be a strong research and evaluation component to any program to ensure that the funds put in place are getting the maximum return on that investment and are moving the needle for children.

[Natilien Joseph, Liberal, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Thank you very much.

Mr. Lemaire, how can this collaboration promote the sharing of best practices and expand access to school meals?

[Ron Lemaire]

The school food program needs to have collaborative partnerships with industry and government to be successful. We've seen best practice at a provincial level in Ontario. We've looked at a northern school program being run very effectively, with procurement strategies happening at the regional level and distributed to rural and remote areas that are in need.

That collaboration takes time, but it also takes investment. That investment requires the right cold chains, the right infrastructure on site and the right education on how to handle and distribute the product when it arrives. Together, we've already shown that the program can be successful if done in a collaborative manner with the federal, provincial and municipal governments. This is where the complexity comes into play. The management of that in the universal framework that my colleague Ms. Lewis talked to is essential, moving forward.

[Natilien Joseph, Liberal, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Thank you very much.

Ms. Engler‑Stringer, the federal government has committed to making the national school food program permanent. How will this permanent status help ensure the continuity and development of programs across the country?

[Dr. Rachel Engler-Stringer]

School food programs will evolve over time. We can't just say that, now that there's funding, the programs are in place. Programs existed before. They offered fairly simple meals—often not a lot of vegetables or fruit—but they weren't very expensive. Now that more money is being invested, it's possible to improve the nutritional quality of what's offered. This will make it possible to provide these meals to more and more children in more and more schools.

Therefore, school food programs are not something that didn't exist before and now does exist; rather, they are something that has evolved over time. Knowing that funding will be provided year after year to expand these programs gives us the opportunity to effectively develop systems in which program managers can work together to purchase in large quantities or expand their infrastructure, among other things.

[Natilien Joseph, Liberal, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC]

I don't know if I have any time left, Mr. Chair. I would like to continue my discussion with Ms. Engler‑Stringer.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

You have 30 seconds left.

[Natilien Joseph, Liberal, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC]

That's fine.

Ms. Engler‑Stringer, I'd like to discuss the main challenges that still need to be addressed so that children, regardless of where they live, can receive nutritious meals at school. Can you tell us more about these challenges, regardless of location?

[Dr. Rachel Engler-Stringer]

Are you talking about the barriers that children face in participating in these programs?

[Natilien Joseph, Liberal, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC]

I'm talking about those barriers, yes, regardless of where they live.

[Dr. Rachel Engler-Stringer]

Okay. I think I'm going to answer this question in English.

There are many barriers, some of which are simply that some kids.... We have a wide range of cultural communities in Canada. We have families that maybe haven't ever seen programs before. They need time to develop trust and to recognize that the foods being offered are going to be appropriate for their children. There are many barriers. I can speak to that more, if someone else wants to ask me more questions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Thank you, Mr. Joseph.

Before we move to Madam Larouche, I will again remind those in the room to please use the translation that is available. Keep your earpiece on so that you can fully understand all the debate that is taking place. Sometimes the noise level is high.

Ms. Larouche, you have the floor for six minutes.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

I thank the witnesses for joining us today.

Ms. Lewis, Mr. Lemaire, Ms. Engler‑Stringer, Ms. Gowriluk, thank you very much for being with us.

Ms. Engler‑Stringer, you concluded your remarks by saying that you would like to be able to expand on your comments regarding barriers. So I'll give you a little time to elaborate.

[Dr. Rachel Engler-Stringer]

I'm going to answer in English.

The barriers exist because we are developing brand new systems in this country. There was a structure that for the most part existed at the individual school level, with volunteers offering something in a school context, and we are now at a time when, in most provinces and territories, we are talking about having a school food program, and for just over a year, and maybe less than a year in some contexts

Schools now are developing those systems. They're putting in the infrastructure. They are communicating with families. They are developing all of what we need in order to have really strong school food programs in the future. The barriers are around those things.

As time goes on, more children participate. From my own research in working quite closely in the largest school division in my province, I can tell you that as families see themselves in school food programs, they're more willing to participate. The stigma reduces when programs are being offered to all children and not targeted at kids who are perceived as needing a program, when the food offered is culturally appropriate, and when, if there are dietary restrictions, those are taken into consideration in those programs.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Above all, it also addresses much of the discrimination and bullying that can go along with that.

In your opening statement, you talked about creating a research chair. Could you tell us a bit more about what that would look like? Who would be part of it and what would the main benefits be?

[Dr. Rachel Engler-Stringer]

I spoke of a research network around school food that could include a chair position, like a Canada research chair or something similar to that. The reason we need a network is so that there's a formal system for researchers to communicate across teams.

The way that funding for research exists in this country.... Our tri-council agencies are excellent. They are the envy of many researchers in many parts of the world. However, they do not require collaboration, communication or sharing of resources to ensure there is no duplication and to ensure there are no gaps. That is the system that I believe needs to be created. It doesn't necessarily need enormous resources, but it does need some resources, and it needs a structure behind it. National collaborating centres exist across the country, on different topics related to public health. We could do something very similar.

In my vision, there would be a network that would have nodes at different universities, both English-speaking and French-speaking universities. I've already been bringing about 60 researchers together to do some of this communication and to figure out where those nodes could be. Some nodes could be focused on equity. A node could be focused on local food systems, incorporating as much Canadian product as possible into school food programs and looking at the economic impacts. There could be nodes working on different aspects of school food programs. That's the vision I have, and that could include a Canada research chair.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Thank you.

Ms. Lewis and Mr. Lemaire, being part of the Canadian Produce Marketing Association, you've clearly seen how important Quebec's fruit and vegetable growers are to the local economy. You also know that harvests vary a lot from year to year. That is increasingly the case, in fact, because of climate change.

Is there something the government could do to better support those farmers, who have to cope with the uncertainty caused by climate change? There's no doubt that it affects prices, which are going up. Basically, what can the government do to curb rising produce prices?

[Ron Lemaire]

Thank you for the question.

Maybe I can answer that first, and then I'll hand it to Ms. Lewis next.

We are heading into an El Niño year. We think prices are significant right now. We are going to be seeing some dramatic shifts in production challenges for our domestic industry in Quebec, in Ontario and across Canada.

Models that we need to look at are working with Agriculture Canada and ensuring our business risk management programs are efficient, which means the provinces have a role to play in coming to the table to support the systems that we can deliver. We need to ensure appropriate insurance frameworks. We need to ensure capital investment opportunities.

My colleague noted the need for investment. In this current climate, growers are not investing in their businesses because of the business risk being perceived because of our trading environment. These challenges need to be looked at, and support needs to be put in place.

Regarding the comment around our letter to the Prime Minister asking for a 50-cent rebate on diesel fuel, this would be another significant value to the grower. They would be able to take what product they have, get it to market in a cost-effective way and recuperate that unique point-in-time surge in fuel prices they're experiencing.

A combination of tactics needs to be put in place. We've heard about tax rebates and a range of other tools.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Thank you, Ms. Larouche.

That was your five-minute round.

Go ahead, Ms. Falk.

[Rosemarie Falk, Conservative, Battlefords—Lloydminster—Meadow Lake, SK]

Thank you very much, Chair.

I'd like to thank the witnesses for taking the time to be here today and sharing all of their expertise.

I would like to start with Mr. Lemaire and Ms. Lewis, if I may.

I know we've heard a lot in the previous hour and also at our other meeting around fuel costs. Would you say that is the biggest input cost when it comes to ensuring that we can grow food and get it places?

[Ron Lemaire]

At this point in time, it is the most significant cost that we're experiencing. We've seen escalating costs across our entire industry, not only in fresh produce, but in food. Fuel is one, but there are packaging costs and a range of other inputs. At this point in time, as was noted, there's an increase of 100% and some that we've seen in some regions. It's significant.