Bill C-201 explained in plain English
An Act to develop a national school food program for children
Federal Parliament bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Parliament of Canada snapshot for 43rd Parliament, 1st Session. MP vote breakdowns appear when the House of Commons publishes a recorded division export for that bill. Senate and House stage details include official debate/sitting links when LEGISinfo publishes them.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
This bill proposes the development of a national school food program led by the Minister of Health in collaboration with provinces and stakeholders to ensure all Canadian children have access to healthy food.
This bill, titled the School Food Program for Children Act, proposes the creation of a national school food program. The Minister of Health would be responsible for developing this program in consultation with provincial governments and other stakeholders. The goal is to ensure all Canadian children have access to healthy food at school. The program would define healthy food criteria, assess the feasibility of a federal grant program with provincial cost-sharing to minimize costs for families, build on existing programs, and promote healthy food education. The Minister must also report to Parliament on the program within one year of the Act coming into force, and a review of the program's effectiveness would be required within five years.
- Requires the Minister of Health to develop a national school food program.
- Mandates that the program ensure all children in Canada have access to healthy food.
- Specifies that the program development must involve consultation with provincial government representatives responsible for health and education, as well as other relevant stakeholders.
- Outlines that the program must include criteria for determining healthy food, considering Canada's Food Guide.
- Requires the Minister to assess if the federal government should establish a grant program and cost-sharing arrangements with provinces to fund the school food program, aiming for little or no direct cost to children or their families.
- States that the program should build on existing school food programs and best practices from other jurisdictions.
- Includes a requirement for the program to promote evidence-based healthy food education in schools.
- Requires the Minister of Health to prepare and table a report on the school food program in Parliament within one year of the Act coming into force.
- Mandates the publication of this report on the Department of Health website.
- Requires a review of the program's effectiveness and a subsequent report to Parliament within five years of the initial report being tabled.
- Mandates the publication of the review report on the Department of Health website.
- Children in Canada
- Families of children in Canada
- Minister of Health
- Provincial governments (representatives responsible for health and education)
- Other relevant stakeholders in health and education fields
- Parliament of Canada
- The Minister of Health has an obligation to develop a national school food program.
- The program must ensure all children in Canada have access to healthy food.
- The Minister of Health must consult with provincial governments and other stakeholders in developing the program.
- The Minister of Health must prepare and table a report on the program in Parliament within one year of the Act coming into force.
- The Minister of Health must undertake a review of the program's effectiveness and report to Parliament within five years of the initial report.
- The Minister of Health must prepare a report within one year after the Act comes into force.
- The Minister must table the report in Parliament on any of the first 15 sitting days after it is completed.
- The Minister must post the report online within 10 days after it has been tabled in both Houses of Parliament.
- A review of the program's effectiveness must be undertaken within five years after the tabling of the initial report.
- The review report must be tabled in Parliament on any of the first 15 sitting days after it is completed.
- The Minister must post the review report online within 10 days after it has been tabled in both Houses of Parliament.
- The bill requires an assessment of whether the federal government should establish a grant program to fund the school food program.
- It also requires an assessment of cost-sharing arrangements with provinces to ensure the program operates at little or no direct cost to children or their families.
- The bill states that the development of a national school food program will require collaboration with the provinces, acknowledging that education and health are provincial matters. The extent of this required collaboration and the provinces' willingness to participate are not detailed.
- The bill does not specify the exact day on which it will come into force; this information will be determined upon Royal Assent.
- The specific details of the 'criteria for determining whether a food is healthy' are to be developed as part of the program, taking into account Canada's Food Guide.
This bill, if passed, would create the School Food Program for Children Act, establishing the framework for a national school food program.
Requires the Minister to post reports related to the school food program on the Department of Health website.
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
Official textParliamentary Process
This artifact marks the procedural stage of Senate First Reading for Bill C-201, an act to develop a national school food program, noting it has not yet been reached and the bill's status outside the Order of Precedence.
This record describes the first reading of Bill C-201 in the Senate, which is a procedural step where the bill is formally introduced. The record indicates that this stage has not yet been reached for this bill in the Senate. It also notes that the bill was previously introduced in the House of Commons on February 4, 2020, and has a similar history to a bill from a previous Parliament (C-446). The bill's short title is the 'School Food Program for Children Act'. The bill is currently outside the Order of Precedence, meaning it has not yet been scheduled for debate or further action.
Bill C-201, concerning a national school food program, has not yet reached its Second Reading in the Senate and is currently outside the Order of Precedence, with its last activity being its first reading in the House of Commons.
This artifact describes the status of Bill C-201, An Act to develop a national school food program for children, within the Senate's legislative process. Currently, the bill has not reached the Second Reading stage in the Senate and is not yet part of the Order of Precedence. The latest recorded activity for this bill was its introduction and first reading in the House of Commons on Tuesday, February 4, 2020. The artifact also notes a similar bill, C-446, that was introduced in a previous Parliament with the same short title, 'School Food Program for Children Act'.
Bill C-201, aiming to establish a national school food program, has not yet reached the Senate's third reading stage and is currently outside the order of precedence.
This record indicates that Bill C-201, concerning the development of a national school food program, has not yet reached the 'Third Reading' stage in the Senate. Its current status is 'Outside the Order of Precedence', meaning it has not yet been scheduled for debate or consideration at this stage. The latest procedural activity noted for this bill was its introduction and first reading in the House of Commons on February 4, 2020.
Bill C-201, aiming to establish a national school food program, was introduced and read for the first time in the House of Commons on February 4, 2020, and is not yet scheduled for further debate.
On February 4, 2020, Bill C-201, an Act to develop a national school food program for children, was introduced and received its first reading in the House of Commons. The bill is currently outside the Order of Precedence, meaning it has not yet been scheduled for further debate or consideration. The artifact also notes that a similar bill, C-446, was introduced in a previous Parliament.
Bill C-201, aiming to establish a national school food program, was formally introduced and received its first reading in the House of Commons.
During the House of Commons sitting on February 4, 2020, Bill C-201, "An Act to develop a national school food program for children," was introduced and received its first reading. This stage marks the formal introduction of the bill in the House, where it is given a number and printed. The record indicates that this procedural step was completed.
Bill C-201, aiming to establish a national school food program, has passed first reading in the House of Commons but is not yet scheduled for further parliamentary consideration.
This artifact describes the procedural status of Bill C-201, an Act to develop a national school food program for children. The bill has completed its first reading in the House of Commons on Tuesday, February 4, 2020. However, it is currently listed as 'Outside the Order of Precedence', meaning it has not yet been scheduled for debate or further procedural steps like second reading. The text also notes a similar bill, C-446, with the same short title, was introduced in a previous Parliament.
Bill C-201, aimed at establishing a national school food program, is currently outside the order of precedence in the House of Commons and has not yet reached the committee consideration stage.
This artifact describes the procedural stage of Bill C-201, An Act to develop a national school food program for children, in the House of Commons. The bill is currently listed as "Outside the Order of Precedence" and has not yet reached the "House of Commons Consideration in committee" stage. The last major procedural step completed was its introduction and first reading on February 4, 2020. The artifact also notes a similar bill, C-446, from a previous Parliament which had the same short title and purpose.
Bill C-201, aiming to establish a national school food program, has completed its first reading but is currently outside the order of precedence, with later procedural stages like Report stage not yet reached.
This record pertains to Bill C-201, an Act to develop a national school food program for children. The current status shows that the bill is 'Outside the Order of Precedence', meaning it has not yet reached a point where it can be debated or voted upon in the House of Commons. The latest activity recorded was its introduction and first reading on February 4, 2020. The House of Commons Report stage, which is a later procedural step, has not yet been reached.
Bill C-201, aiming to establish a national school food program, has not yet reached the Third Reading stage in the House of Commons and is currently outside the Order of Precedence.
This record indicates that Bill C-201, concerning the development of a national school food program, has not yet reached the Third Reading stage in the House of Commons. The bill's current status is listed as "Outside the Order of Precedence," meaning it has not been scheduled for debate or further procedural steps. The latest action noted was its introduction and first reading on February 4, 2020. The artifact also references a similar bill, C-446, introduced in a previous Parliament with the same objective.
Debate and sitting links point to official parliamentary sources when LEGISinfo publishes them. Any plain-language discussion summaries should be generated from those official texts and reviewed before public display.
Vote Summary
This bill is still active. We only show vote counts after the legislature publishes a recorded division.
No published representative vote breakdown
This bill is still moving through the process. When a recorded division is published, representative positions can be listed here.
Official sources
Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.
How this data is sourced