UPDATES ON PREVIOUS RESOLUTIONS
Ontario Legislature Advances Legislation to Require Sodium & Calories on Chain Restaurant Menus
This is good news for those who worked on the resolution last year to urge government action on the reduction of dietary sodium. We hope it will pass the final vote before an election is called!
TORONTO (February 20, 2014)—Bill Jeffery, LLB, National Coordinator of the Centre for Science in the Public Interest made the following comment on the outcome of this afternoon’s vote on Bill 149, The
Healthy Decisions Made Easy Act, in the Ontario legislature.
"This afternoon, MPPs voted to mandate sodium and calorie labelling in restaurant menus and to tighten current restrictions on the marketing of flavoured tobacco products (which target children). This is a
hopeful, important step forward for public health in Ontario, provided the proposed measures are enacted before the legislature is overtaken by potentially election-triggering machinations in the Minority
Government scenario in the coming months.
The menu labelling efforts, if soon studied by the Standing Committee of the Legislative Assembly and returned to the legislature for a final vote, would make Ontario a leader in Canada and help put a dent
in the 16,000 to 22,000 deaths in the province caused annually by nutrition-related cancer, heart disease, stroke and diabetes, largely due to excess calories and sodium.
During the five years that the menu labelling provisions of Bill 149 have been in limbo in the legislature, Medicare and workforce productivity have suffered needlessly while the evidence for their benefits has stacked-up. Today, Minister of Health Deb Matthews reaffirmed her plans to table similar legislation.
According to recent national surveys, more than 90% Canadians support requiring chain restaurants to provide levels of sodium and high-sodium warnings on menus, as well as calories.
Without seeing so on menus, the vast majority of Canadians would have no idea that, for example, the:
• McDonald’s Third Pounder Angus Bacon & Cheese Sandwich has more than double the sodium (1,990 mg) of the Double Quarter Pounder Without Cheese Sandwich (830 mg); and
• Tim Hortons’ Sausage, Egg, and Cheese Breakfast Sandwich has nearly double the calories (530 calories) of the English Muffin with Egg and Cheese (280 Calories).
For nearly a decade, the restaurant industry has promoted its mostly ineffectual approach (now called the “Informed Dining Program”) of secreting detailed information on cluttered brochures and posters
elsewhere in restaurants. Common sense and research show that approach does not work. Calorie and sodium information needs to be large enough to read and right on the menus.
We look forward to studying the Minister’s menu legislation which is purported to be similar to the menu labelling provisions of Bill 149."
The joint-statement endorsed by 40 groups and experts—including the Canadian Diabetes Association, Canadian Nurses Association, Canadian Public Health Association, Canadian Stroke Network, Canadian Women’s Health Network, College of Family Physicians of Canada, Dietitians of Canada, and the Fitness Industry Council of Canada—collectively representing or serving millions of Ontarians and whose members treat, teach, or serve nearly all of us—is available at:
http://cspinet.org/canada/pdf/expert_ngo.joint-statement.menu-labelling.pdf
BULLYING & CYBERBULLYING (CFUW Adopted Resolution 2013)
Feb. 6, 2014, from Stella Ambler MP Mississauga South a letter and survey
for the community on these issues.
“The federal government is introducing legislation that will amend the Criminal Code to prohibit the non-consensual distribution of intimate messages. This crime will be punishable by a maximum penalty of five years. A judge can order the removal of an image from websites.”
The government supports the Canadian Centre for Child Protection which operates Cybertip and NeedHelpNow.ca that Canadians can use to report online exploitation of children.
THE NEED FOR A FEDERAL COMMISSION FOR CANADA’S CHILDREN (CFUW Adopted Resolution 2013)
Feb.3, 2014, from Andrea Calver <andrea@childcareontario.org> email from Child Care Watch with a survey on child care regulations, proposed child care legislation at Queen’s Park, Oct. 27 municipal elections, municipalities to get more child care funding and Child Care advocacy.
This is good news for those who worked on the resolution last year to urge government action on the reduction of dietary sodium. We hope it will pass the final vote before an election is called!
TORONTO (February 20, 2014)—Bill Jeffery, LLB, National Coordinator of the Centre for Science in the Public Interest made the following comment on the outcome of this afternoon’s vote on Bill 149, The
Healthy Decisions Made Easy Act, in the Ontario legislature.
"This afternoon, MPPs voted to mandate sodium and calorie labelling in restaurant menus and to tighten current restrictions on the marketing of flavoured tobacco products (which target children). This is a
hopeful, important step forward for public health in Ontario, provided the proposed measures are enacted before the legislature is overtaken by potentially election-triggering machinations in the Minority
Government scenario in the coming months.
The menu labelling efforts, if soon studied by the Standing Committee of the Legislative Assembly and returned to the legislature for a final vote, would make Ontario a leader in Canada and help put a dent
in the 16,000 to 22,000 deaths in the province caused annually by nutrition-related cancer, heart disease, stroke and diabetes, largely due to excess calories and sodium.
During the five years that the menu labelling provisions of Bill 149 have been in limbo in the legislature, Medicare and workforce productivity have suffered needlessly while the evidence for their benefits has stacked-up. Today, Minister of Health Deb Matthews reaffirmed her plans to table similar legislation.
According to recent national surveys, more than 90% Canadians support requiring chain restaurants to provide levels of sodium and high-sodium warnings on menus, as well as calories.
Without seeing so on menus, the vast majority of Canadians would have no idea that, for example, the:
• McDonald’s Third Pounder Angus Bacon & Cheese Sandwich has more than double the sodium (1,990 mg) of the Double Quarter Pounder Without Cheese Sandwich (830 mg); and
• Tim Hortons’ Sausage, Egg, and Cheese Breakfast Sandwich has nearly double the calories (530 calories) of the English Muffin with Egg and Cheese (280 Calories).
For nearly a decade, the restaurant industry has promoted its mostly ineffectual approach (now called the “Informed Dining Program”) of secreting detailed information on cluttered brochures and posters
elsewhere in restaurants. Common sense and research show that approach does not work. Calorie and sodium information needs to be large enough to read and right on the menus.
We look forward to studying the Minister’s menu legislation which is purported to be similar to the menu labelling provisions of Bill 149."
The joint-statement endorsed by 40 groups and experts—including the Canadian Diabetes Association, Canadian Nurses Association, Canadian Public Health Association, Canadian Stroke Network, Canadian Women’s Health Network, College of Family Physicians of Canada, Dietitians of Canada, and the Fitness Industry Council of Canada—collectively representing or serving millions of Ontarians and whose members treat, teach, or serve nearly all of us—is available at:
http://cspinet.org/canada/pdf/expert_ngo.joint-statement.menu-labelling.pdf
BULLYING & CYBERBULLYING (CFUW Adopted Resolution 2013)
Feb. 6, 2014, from Stella Ambler MP Mississauga South a letter and survey
for the community on these issues.
“The federal government is introducing legislation that will amend the Criminal Code to prohibit the non-consensual distribution of intimate messages. This crime will be punishable by a maximum penalty of five years. A judge can order the removal of an image from websites.”
The government supports the Canadian Centre for Child Protection which operates Cybertip and NeedHelpNow.ca that Canadians can use to report online exploitation of children.
THE NEED FOR A FEDERAL COMMISSION FOR CANADA’S CHILDREN (CFUW Adopted Resolution 2013)
Feb.3, 2014, from Andrea Calver <andrea@childcareontario.org> email from Child Care Watch with a survey on child care regulations, proposed child care legislation at Queen’s Park, Oct. 27 municipal elections, municipalities to get more child care funding and Child Care advocacy.
