C-322National Framework for a School Food Program Act
An Act to develop a national framework to establish a school food program
Private member's bill, introduced in the House of Commons on March 9, 2023
- Status
- Defeated at third reading in the House of Commons
What it does
Requires the Minister of Employment and Social Development to develop a national framework for a school food program and report it to Parliament.
What it does
- Requires the Minister, with the Health Minister and provinces, Indigenous governing bodies and other stakeholders, to develop a national framework for a school food program.
- Sets out what the framework must cover, including healthy food standards, the meals and snacks schools must offer, and respect for cultural diversity and First Nations, Inuit and Métis rights and priorities.
- Requires measures to avoid stigmatizing pupils who use the program and to support local and sustainable food systems.
- Requires the Minister to build on existing school food programs, consider local initiatives and infrastructure, and promote evidence-based healthy food education in schools.
- Requires the Minister to table the framework in Parliament within one year after the Act comes into force and to post it online within 10 days after tabling in both Houses.
- Requires a review of the framework within five years after the report is tabled, with a second report to Parliament and online publication.
Who it affects
- School children
- Schools
- Provincial health and education ministries
- Indigenous governing bodies
- Department of Employment and Social Development
- Federal government
Background
The bill says its purpose is to develop a national framework to establish a school food program so all children in Canada have access to healthy food. It comes into force six months after royal assent.
Where it is
House of Commons
First reading
Completed.
Second reading
Completed.
Committee
Completed.
Report stage
Completed.
Third reading
Defeated here. Defeated
Senate
First reading
Not reached.
Second reading
Not reached.
Committee
Not reached.
Third reading
Not reached.
Royal assent
Royal assent
Not reached.
Introduced by an MP who is not a minister. These bills compete in a lottery for debate time, and most do not become law. How a bill becomes law
How the House voted
2nd reading of Bill C-322, An Act to develop a national framework to establish a school food program
Vote 478,
Passed
204 yeato110 nay · 14 paired
Party breakdown for vote 478 Party Position Yea Nay Did not vote Liberal Yea 150 0 8 Conservative Nay 0 110 7 Bloc Yea 28 0 4 NDP Yea 24 0 1 Green Yea 1 0 1 Independent Yea 1 0 2 Total 204 110
What MPs said
Each party’s first speech on this bill in the House, from Hansard. Excerpts are the speaker’s opening sentences, unedited.
LiberalSerge Cormier· November 1, 2023
“I am honoured to rise in the House today to speak to my bill, Bill C-322, an act to develop a national framework to establish a school food program. The purpose of this bill is outlined clearly in its title: to develop a national framework for the establishment of a school food program to ensure that all children in Canada have access to healthy food.”
Read the full speech on openparliament.caConservativeLianne Rood· November 1, 2023
“The purpose of this bill, as set out by the member for Acadie—Bathurst is “to establish a school food program”.”
Read the full speech on openparliament.caBlocJulie Vignola· November 1, 2023
“It must also be an intrinsic element of our thinking when we have to make decisions like the one concerning this bill. It brings our focus back to what needs to be considered, what must be important.”
Read the full speech on openparliament.caNDPLeah Gazan· November 1, 2023
“The New Democrats have been on this page long before the Liberal promise and this bill, and we are going to keep advocating for the creation of a national school food program that ensures that every child and every family will have access to nutritious, healthy food.”
Read the full speech on openparliament.ca
Read the source
LEGISinfo status: At third reading in the House of Commons. Bill data from LEGISinfo, votes from openparliament.ca and the House of Commons. Last updated October 13, 2026.