NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh continues to tour the area, after a stop yesterday alongside NDP MPs Rachel Blaney and Gord Johns, calling for a National School Lunch program to be implemented in the upcoming budget.

The NDP says food bank usage across the country is at its highest level since 1989 and more than one million children are living in poverty. Canada is the only G7 country without a National School Food Program.

Local school districts have received provincial funding, but Singh says they need the federal government to do their part.

North Island - Powell River MP Rachel Blaney notes the federal Liberals have been promising this step since 2019 “but, so far, they’ve prioritized their wealthy friends and let thousands of Canadian families down,” she said.

Singh remains in the area - he’ll be visiting Qualicum First Nation on Thursday.