The federal NDP leader wants a national school food program included in the upcoming budget.

Jagmeet Singh says in a country like ours, no child should ever go hungry.

“The reality is the high cost of food, the high cost of groceries, people are going hungry. Everywhere in the province and the country, there’s a record use of food banks. We’ve got to give people some relief. We got to take off the pressure on the shoulders of parents and those kids who aren’t getting nutritious meals because they just can’t afford it,” says Sing.

Singh adds that the Liberals have promised to bring in a program like this for years, but he feels they have been dragging their feet. He says Pierre Poilievre and the Conservatives have voted against it.

“We’re fighting back making it very clear in this upcoming budget. Imagine what it’s going to mean for that kid, that young person going to school knowing they’re going to have one nutritious meal absolutely guaranteed. Imagine what that’s going to mean for a parent who knows that, how tough things are, and how hard it is to buy groceries so that a child is going to have a nutritious meal at school. That’s one less thing I have to worry about,” he says.

Singh says Canada is the only country in the G7 that doesn’t have a national school nutrition program.

“Real relief, giving people a break, making sure they can actually focus on the things they need to focus on kids. They can focus on their education and participating in school, not wondering about where they’re going to get their next meal. That’s what we’re talking about.”