Supporting the Government of Canada’s commitment to promote healthy living and prevent chronic disease
April 7, 2015 - Calgary, Alberta - Public Health Agency of Canada
Today, the Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of Health, along with Members of Parliament for Calgary East, Devinder Shory and for Calgary Centre, Joan Crockatt, led a roundtable on healthy living for families.
Hosted by the Families Matter Society, the roundtable was attended by parents and family members who are benefitting from Government programs and initiatives related to healthy living, including those focused on physical activity, healthy eating and the Children’s Fitness Tax Credit. This was an opportunity for the Minister to receive first-hand feedback from Canadians on these programs.
During her discussions, Minister Ambrose emphasized the important role federal healthy living programs play in helping children, new immigrant and at-risk groups get a healthy start in life.
She reiterated the Government of Canada’s commitment in these areas and highlighted several activities and initiatives to help Canadians make healthy choices for themselves and their families. In particular, she highlighted the:
- Introduction of the Children’s Fitness Tax Credit in 2006 and the recent doubling of the credit to $1,000 for the 2014 and subsequent tax years. This credit is provided to families who have children under the age of 16 registered in an eligible physical activity program;
- Community Action Program for Children (CAPC) which provides funding to community-based groups including the Families Matter Society, to develop and deliver programs that promote the health and social development of vulnerable children and their families;
- Canada Prenatal Nutrition Program (CPNP), aimed at improving the health of pregnant women and their infants, and promoting and supporting breastfeeding;
- Aboriginal Head Start, which focuses on delivering early child development programming to support Aboriginal preschool children spiritually, emotionally, intellectually, and physically;
- Multi-sectoral partnerships to promote healthy living and prevent chronic disease that provide opportunities for Canadians to improve their health through increased physical activity and healthy eating; including The Play Exchange and Build Our Kids’ Success (BOKS);
- Nutrition Facts Table education to help consumers more easily read, understand and use food labels. Through recent consultations with Canadian parents and stakeholders, work is underway on improving nutrition information on food labels, such as making serving sizes consistent and the list of ingredients easier to read, as well as providing information on sugar content; and,
- Improvements to food labelling that were made to protect consumers with food allergies and sensitivities, including new gluten-free labels and allergen labeling regulations, as well as other food safety initiatives, including new labeling rules for mechanically tenderized beef labels.
The Minister finished by thanking the parents present for sharing their insights and experiences on the healthy living approaches that make a difference for Canadian families.
Michael Bolkenius
Office of the Honourable Rona Ambrose
Federal Minister of Health
(613) 957-0200
Media Relations
Public Health Agency of Canada
(613) 957-2983
