Four years ago, Quebecer Daniel Germain had an idea: hold an annual summit in Montreal to track global progress on the United Nations’ Millennium goals, which include combating poverty, hunger and HIV-AIDS, as well as protecting the environment.

The Montreal summit looks at ways to combat poverty, among other issues. (Denis Farrell/Associated Press)

The result was the Montreal Millennium Summit, the fourth edition of which ran from April 20 to 22. For his high-level gathering, he brings together government leaders, academics and heads of humanitarian groups, but also celebrities (this year, the Duchess of York and Al Gore), who help draw attention to the event.

In the rest of Canada, he might not be especially well known, but in Quebec, Germain, 47, is pop-star famous as a social visionary and a leading anti-poverty activist.

His personal story is legendary; he grew up in foster homes in Montreal and escaped a life of drugs and crime by discovering the joys of volunteering in the Third World.

He returned to Quebec, wanting to help disadvantaged kids at home. So in 1994 he created the Club des petits dejeuners du Québec, a non-profit charity that provides a nutritious breakfast to kids at schools. Corporate sponsors include Walmart, Danone, Sobeys, Minute Maid and Saputo.

The program was so successful that he has now extended it to other parts of the country, providing morning meals to 200,000 Canadian kids.

This year, he was awarded the Order of Canada for his work leading the Breakfast Club of Canada.

CBC producer Jennifer Clibbon interviewed Daniel Germain this week about his defining issue, poverty and children, as he took part in the summit he founded. Here are some excerpts.

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CBC News: A focus of the Montreal Summit has been national poverty. One in five kids in Canada lives in poverty. You founded a breakfast program for school children, first in Quebec, and now nationwide. How did this idea come about?

Daniel Germain (Handout)

From 1990 to 1994, I discovered my missionary side, in Haiti and Mexico. I spent time with children who were sleeping in gutters and living in squalor, and I was deeply moved by a feeling of helplessness in the face of the world's suffering.

Returning to Canada, I took the time to look in my own backyard.

While less dramatic, the poverty here is nevertheless cruel for children who are constantly confronted with the gap between rich and poor, which they see on TV, at school, and with their friends.

I discovered that many kids arrive at school with empty stomachs. This became my central focus and in 1994 I started up the Club des petits dejeuners du Québec.

CBC News: You've known poverty and hunger in your own life. How did that experience influence your work?

I strongly believe that every child deserves an equal start in life. I understand what it is to go to school without a decent meal. I want to offer young people places where they can express themselves and help them develop better self-esteem.

Every child, whether from a privileged or underprivileged environment, has the potential to thrive. [They need] encouragement, stimulation and acceptance.

CBC News: You have said that your recent work with breakfast clubs among First Nations children has been especially moving. Tell me about that.

The social and economic condition of aboriginal people in Canada is alarming.

About half of aboriginal children in Canada live below the poverty line.

For some of kids, food is scarce. Breakfast Clubs of Canada is not only enabling us to provide nutritious meals, but also maybe to save lives.

CBC News: What positive impact do the breakfast programs have in communities?

The prevailing atmosphere of the club is of a place where kids can have fun and share a good breakfast with friends.

It soon became clear that eating at school reduces tardiness and decreases the number of visits to the nurse in the morning. The children are less aggressive, and school absences are less frequent.

Plus teachers are reporting more creativity from kids who have had breakfast, or even more concentration time in class.