Bill to ban unhealthy food ads for kids clears Senate, House sponsor sought

With her bill having passed the Senate last week, Conservative Senator Nancy Greene Raine is now casting about for an MP in the House to champion her legislation banning the advertising of unhealthy food and drinks to children under the age of 17. Bill S-228, the Child Health Protection Act, seeks to change the Food and Drugs Act in an effort to fight childhood obesity by limiting the exposure children have to the marketing of certain foods and drinks. It received third reading in the Senate on Sept. 28. Prior to the final vote, the government’s representative in the Senate, Independent Senator Peter Harder (Ottawa, Ont.), spoke in support of the bill and “urge its passage so that it can go to the other place and hopefully be adopted as soon as possible.” But in order to reach the House of Commons, Sen. Greene Raine’s (Thompson-Okanagan-Kootenay, B.C.) bill needs a Member of Parliament to sponsor it. “It’s funny because I was working with Dianne Watts,” Sen. Greene Raine told The Hill Times. But Ms. Watts has resigned as the Conservative MP for South Surrey-White Rock, B.C., in order to seek the leadership of the B.C. Liberal Party. “She was very supportive of the bill,” Sen. Greene Raine said on Sept. 28. “I haven’t got a sponsor at this moment.” The Senator said that given the non-partisan nature of the bill, she’d like to see a similar approach as was taken to Bill C-233, seeking a national dementia strategy, which was co-sponsored by Conservative MP Rob Nicholson (Niagara Falls, Ont.) and Liberal MP Rob Oliphant (Don Valley West, Ont.). “I don’t think partisan politics will raise its head,” Sen. Greene Raine said. Bill aligns with government priorities Sen. Greene Raine said she believes she has government support for her public bill—which she first tabled in the Red Chamber almost a year to the day it received third reading on Sept. 27, 2016—from the health minister’s office. She noted that the mandate letter for former health minister Jane Philpott makes explicit reference to the intended goal of her bill, specifically to introduce “new restrictions on the commercial marketing of unhealthy food and beverages to children, similar to those now in place in Quebec.” A statement from the office of Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor (Moncton-Riverview-Dieppe, N.B.)—whose mandate letter has not yet been made public—didn’t respond to questions about whether the minister would support the bill in the House of Commons. Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor didn't say whether she would support Bill S-228 in the House of Commons, though the bill aligns with her government's priorities. The Hill Times file photograph “Our government is committed to giving kids the best start for a long and healthy life, and helping prevent nutrition-related chronic diseases and obesity. Restricting the marketing of unhealthy food to kids is an effective way to address childhood obesity,” the statement said. “As such, we will introduce new restrictions on the commercial marketing of unhealthy food and beverages to children to protect their health, and to support their families in making healthier food choices.” The minister's office didn't respond by deadline to further questions about whether this statement means the minister will support the Senator's bill. Health Canada held a public consultation on the issue between June and August, with more consultations slated for 2018, according to the department’s website. “Undoubtedly, there are complex and challenging questions that still need to be answered as the regulations are developed,” Sen. Harder said in his third-reading speech. “But Sen. Greene Raine’s bill lays the groundwork for real change so that we have a healthier and more outward-oriented and active population of children, and greater protection for adults, and particularly children as they become adults, because of the conditions we know that unhealthy eating leads to.” Pushback from industry Sen. Greene Raine acknowledged there was, and will continue to be, pushback from the food and beverage industry as well as the advertising and marketing industry to her bill. “They see it as a negative,” she said, adding that those industries “don’t like to see their business model changed.” While an earlier iteration of the bill captured marketing of all food and beverages to children under the age of 13, the Senator said she “became convinced by the science” that the target age needed to be increased to those under 17. The bill was also changed after it was reported back from committee to add the qualifier of advertising of “unhealthy” food and drinks, as classified by nutrient profiling systems of organizations like the World Health Organization and the Pan American Health Organization. Sen. Nancy Greene Raine and celebrity chef and healthy-eating advocate Jamie Oliver. Photograph courtesy of Sen. Nancy Greene Raine Neither the original bill nor the amended version will achieve the intended outcome of beating childhood obesity, said Ron Lund, president and CEO of the Association of Canadian Advertisers, adding that a “multi-faceted” approach is required, as well as a dialogue with the government. “We’ve been at the forefront—we just ask for an honest voice at the table, not … the shamefully wrong hysterics that are being offered” by groups from the medical establishment, Mr. Lund said, pointing to Statistics Canada figures indicating that the number of obese children in Canada between the ages of five and 17 has actually gone down from 666,800 in 2004 to 580,800 in 2015. The bill has support from groups such as the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Canadian Medical Association. The legislation is tantamount to an outright ban on all advertising of food and beverages in the country, Mr. Lund said, pointing to a Health Canada discussion paper with proposed guidelines for “child-directed” marketing on TV, which would keep ads for unhealthy food and drinks off screens on weekdays between 6 and 9 a.m. and 3 and 9 p.m. and on weekends between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. It would also cover other digital media (online), as well as outdoor display advertising. “Demonizing food that, as part of a healthy balanced diet, will not do any harm is not acceptable to us. And neither is the fact that trying to put these same demonized products out of the reach of consumers who have a right to access of information during primetime hours is equally as unacceptable to us,” Mr. Lund said. Senate legislation update There hasn’t been much movement on government bills in front of the Senate, now in its third sitting week of the fall. Three government bills are still at second reading, including Bill C-23, Preclearance Act, 2016, which allows U.S. border officers to conduct pre-clearance activities in Canada for U.S.-bound travellers. Bill C-25 amends several laws to add reforms pertaining to the election of directors to corporate boards, among other things, while Bill C-36, an act amending the Statistics Act, would strengthen the independence of the country’s chief statistician, according to the Library of Parliament. On Tuesday, the Senate welcomed Finance Minister Bill Morneau (Toronto Centre, Ont.) to question period, where he was grilled on his proposed tax changes affecting small businesses. Finance Minister Bill Morneau appeared for question period in the Senate Oct. 3. The Hill Times file photograph Despite hearings having wrapped up in the House of Commons, the Senate has just started its own study of the proposed changes, which is being done by the Senate’s National Finance Committee. According to Conservative Sen. Percy Mockler (New Brunswick), chair of the Senate National Finance Committee, the committee will be looking to take their study on the road. Sen. Mockler said in an email that along with it being “crucial” to hear from government officials, tax experts, and other stakeholders, Senators “also want to meet Canadians from various regions of the country so we have a good understanding of how this proposed legislation will impact their day to day lives.” He added that the committee plans “to conduct a cross-country fact-finding mission once we have budget approval.” The National Finance Committee held its first meeting on the study on Sept. 27, and began hearing from witnesses from Finance Canada on Oct. 3. It will hear from tax law experts on Oct. 4. It will report its findings to the Senate by Nov. 30. cevelyn@hilltimes.com The Hill Times

Bill to ban unhealthy food ads for kids clears Senate, House sponsor sought

An advertising lobby group vows to continue pushback against the bill.

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