By Greg Fry

Senator Greene Raine’s child obesity bill clears another hurdle

May 1, 2018 | 9:54 AM

KAMLOOPS — Conservative Senator Nancy Greene Raine’s child health bill cleared another hurdle in Ottawa this week.

The Child Health Protection Act, B S-228, was amended by the House of Commons Health Committee and returned to the House of Commons for third reading Monday.

The bill aims to prohibit the marketing of unhealthy food and beverages to children and is in reaction to a study done by the Senate Committee on Social Affairs which found obesity rates have tripled in Canada since 1980 and that now one out of three kids between the ages of five and 17 are either overweight or obese.

The committee amendments included:

• Amending the definition of children to mean under 13 instead of under 17.
• Parliament has five years to study the effect of this legislation to determine whether there is an increase in the advertising of unhealthy food directed at 13 to 16 year olds. The purpose is to make sure that the exemption of advertising to 13 to 16 year olds would not be exploited and result in increased advertising to this group.

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“I know that there are many causes of obesity but as our Senate Committee study concluded, the marketing of unhealthy food and beverages to children has a very negative impact on our most vulnerable age group,” said Greene Raine.

If the House votes to adopt the amended bill, it will go to the Senate for approval, after which it will become law.