So, today, we're announcing our National School Food Policy, which outlines our vision, principles, and objectives for implementing the National School Food Program. This policy lays the groundwork for strong collaboration with provinces, territories, and Indigenous communities, including with the Government of Nova Scotia that has shown an ambition and a desire to move forward even quicker to implement an even bigger school food program across the province.

The National School Food Program will allow students to concentrate better at school, so they can have the best shot at success.

Our National School Food Program will make a real difference in the lives of Canadians, including right here at Northumberland Regional High School whose students made their voices heard as we were developing this program. At the end of last year, I received a whole bunch of letters, including from Tyler, who's Northumberland's proud student council co-president, who explained that, and I'm going to quote him here, “The not only nutritional but health and behavioural effects of school lunches are undeniable,” or Audrey who's in grade 10 and told me she’s lucky enough to have access to healthy food at home, but for her, it's important that others who aren't as fortunate get the food they need.

A number of other students also wrote to tell me that, thanks to their school food programs, they don’t have to worry about getting enough to eat. It’s easier for them to learn, play and make friends. 

Well, Tyler, Audrey, and others, we got a lot of letters, we heard you, and in Budget 2024, we acted with that $200 million a year you were asking for, for five years, a billion dollars to make sure kids right across the country have the same opportunities that you have here at Northumberland Regional High.

See, since the beginning, we vowed to do politics differently, to deliver fairness for every generation. With today's National School Food Policy, we're taking another step forward to make that a reality. There's always a lot more to do. We know people are facing all sorts of pressures from housing to health supports to concerns about what kind of jobs and futures there are for yourselves and your communities. Well, these are the things that the government is investing in to make sure that every generation has that opportunity to succeed and to thrive and to create a stronger Canada every single day. So, thank you all for everything you do, not just to help out your fellow students but to develop the leadership skills that all of us are going to be counting on in coming decades and generations.