Latest news with #BarbRamsay
CBC
31-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Higher demand expected as P.E.I. children's summer food program returns for 5th year
Social Sharing The province's Children's Summer Food Program is now open for registration, marking the fifth summer it has operated. Barb Ramsay, P.E.I.'s minister of social development and seniors, said the program served about 2,300 children and delivered around 143,000 meals last year. And those numbers may increase again this summer, she said. "Food insecurity is very concerning, but this is one of the programs that we have to combat that," she told CBC's Island Morning. "It's down 10 per cent. It went from 41 to 31," she said, referring to the most recent Statistics Canada data that shows the percentage of Island children living in food-insecure households dropped from 41 per cent in 2022 to 31 per cent in 2023. That's 10 percentage points or about 25 per cent. Ramsay said the province also supports P.E.I.'s school food program, which operates on a pay-what-you-can model during the academic year, and the seniors' food program. A poverty elimination strategy is currently in development and is scheduled to be released this fall. As for this summer's program, Ramsay said the total cost is not yet known because that depends on how many families sign up. The department budgets roughly $8 per meal. "We're prepared for whatever the cost is," she said. Families can register for the Children's Summer Food Program online through the P.E.I. government's website. Behind the meals Duke Cormier, owner of Fiveelevenwest in Summerside, is one of the local food suppliers for the program. Ramsay's department sends his staff the participant numbers — typically 450 to 500 children — and information about any special dietary needs. They prepare the meals, package and freeze them, and have them ready for delivery every Wednesday morning. The recipes used come from the province's school food program; Cormier's company is also a part of that. Cormier said the menu offers a diverse variety of dishes, ranging from sweet and sour chicken with rice, shepherd's pie, and burgers with mashed potatoes and vegetables, to creamy chicken pasta, lasagna, and butter chicken. "We try to do everything as healthy as we can. At the same time, there's a balance between healthy and what they'll eat," he said. "The P.E.I.'s school food program has done a very good job with their recipes to close that gap. "Originally maybe they were — and maybe it's a bad thing to say — too healthy. But now, they've got to the point where they're injecting vegetables, nutrition into every part of the meal they can." Having been with the program since it started, Cormier said he's proud of the work and care everyone put into this, from his business and the province to the delivery drivers. "We are in contact with our drivers all day long, for instance, and they've gone to a household, and perhaps the person's not home, and the meal's coming back. And then we're taking another bag back to them. There's an effort to try to really ensure that these people are getting reached." Ramsay added that this summer, the province plans to hire 25 to 30 drivers, and they've already received about 60 applications. "There's a tremendous amount of work that goes into this program, and I'm going to keep it going as long as I possibly can," the minister said.
CTV News
27-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
P.E.I. announces Children's Summer Food Program
Minister of Social Development and Seniors Barb Ramsay (centre), joins (from left to right) Chef Kevin Bottrill, Betsy Cormier, Duke Cormier, and Chef Steve Gallant from Fiveeleven West in Summerside. (Source: Government of P.E.I.) Prince Edward Island announced it will support the Children's Summer Food Program for 2025. The Children's Summer Food Program, established in 2021, is primarily intended for families currently receiving financial support through social assistance or assured income programs. The program delivers five nutritious frozen meals each week through July and August to children in households facing food insecurity, to fill the gap in between school food programs. 'We know there are Island families struggling to put food on the table in this time of high inflation and high food prices, and this program is an important part of our efforts to support them. As mandated by the Poverty Elimination Strategy Act, our government remains committed to addressing food insecurity in P.E.I. and we have made substantial efforts in this area,' said Barb Ramsay, minister of Social Development and Seniors. With a budget investment of $600,000, the program prepares meals sourced from local restaurants and catering companies and delivers them to homes across the province, a release from the province said. 'We value our community, and all the support we've received over the years, so we strive to make a positive impact where we can,' said Duke Cormier, owner of Fiveelevenwest in Summerside, one of the food suppliers for the program. 'Knowing that we are helping families who are struggling, and giving kids the nutrition they need to be healthy makes us proud to be a part of this effort.' Families not currently enrolled in social assistance or assured income programs but experiencing financial difficulties can apply through the registration form. Registration for the program begins Tuesday and will remain open for the duration of the program. For more P.E.I. news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
CBC
08-05-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Opposition wants to know why PSB didn't pass reports of inappropriate touching to police
Social Sharing The case of a former substitute teacher's sex crimes was once again the focus of debate in the P.E.I. Legislature Wednesday. Questions from both opposition parties centred around the issue of duty to report, which is the legal obligation for anyone to report a suspected case of child abuse to authorities as soon as possible. It's a provision of P.E.I.'s Child, Youth and Family Services Act, and similar phrasing exists in the province's Education Act. Green and Liberal MLAs said in the house Wednesday that in the case of incidents involving Matthew Alan Craswell, the Public Schools Branch didn't follow the law. "Information was brought to our education leaders within the PSB but duty to report was not followed, a clear contravention of the act," interim Green Leader Karla Bernard said in a question directed at Barb Ramsay, the minister responsible for child protection in the province. "Complaints suggesting possible sexual assault were made to a director within your government. The legal duty to report was not followed. What consequences will you be employing to address this serious issue?" Ramsay replied that the director of child protection was contacted by the RCMP in August 2024, after police had already laid criminal charges against Craswell. WATCH | P.E.I. MLAs ask questions about when and why officials must report cases of suspected wrongdoing: P.E.I. MLAs ask questions about when and why officials must report cases of suspected wrongdoing 3 hours ago Duration 3:49 P.E.I. has a legislated 'duty to report' requiring anyone with reasonable grounds to suspect a child is being abused to report that to the director of child protection or police as soon as possible. That didn't happen in the case of a substitute teacher who pleaded guilty last week to sexual interference in an incident involve an Island primary school student. As CBC's Kerry Campbell reports, opposition parties want to know why. Last week, the 40-year-old Craswell pleaded guilty to sexual interference in a case involving an elementary student at Stratford's Glen Stewart Primary. He was first arrested and charged last summer with possession and distribution of child pornography after the U.S.-based National Center for Missing and Exploited Children flagged his internet activity. New information came to light during the RCMP investigation, details of which were shared in court last week as Craswell pleaded guilty to four charges. CBC News is aware of one other incident involving a student at an unidentified Charlottetown elementary school in June 2023, but Craswell faces no charges in relation to that. Court documents indicate school officials were made aware of both reports of suspected sexual touching, but police were not contacted in either case. The Public Schools Branch has said it did its own investigation into the reports and concluded, incorrectly, that the incidents were not sexual in nature. That's why authorities were not told, the education agency said. Craswell continued to work in schools with older children as late as the spring of 2024, after the Public Schools Branch was informed. 'Reasonable grounds' up for debate The Craswell case has led the province to order a third-party review into relevant Public Schools Branch policies and procedures that will be headed up by former P.E.I. chief justice David Jenkins. That inquiry is scheduled to begin June 2. Public Schools Branch speaks after substitute teacher's sexual touching revealed 5 hours ago Duration 9:47 Public Schools Branch Director Tracy Beaulieu tells the CBC's Nicola MacLeod what steps were taken when Matthew Craswell's inappropriate touching of students was brought forward, and why officials did not feel the need to contact police. The issue of whether the schools branch had a duty to report the incidents involving Craswell may come down to the terminology of the act. It states that someone must have "reasonable grounds to suspect a child requires protection." Bernard, who worked as a school counsellor earlier in her career, argued Wednesday that the PSB doesn't have the latitude to conduct its own investigations under the law. "If a child comes and discloses that to you, you're not really the judge and jury there. You call child protection or the police and report that right away," she said. "There was a law broken here — and as a result harm against children was able to continue in the school system."
