Ad-blocking bill a healthy initiative
Parents are all too familiar with lobbying from the rear seats of the minivan as their beloved offspring plead for a visit to a favourite fast-food restaurant. It’s called “pester power,” and it’s also employed in savvy marketing techniques aimed at the impressionable minds of children, whose choice of dining establishment can be dictated by the lure of obtaining a chintzy toy replicating characters from Despicable Me or My Little Pony.
To the relief of parents everywhere, the marketing of food and drink aimed at children less than 13 years old could soon be prohibited throughout Canada.
Winnipeg MP Doug Eyolfson sponsored the legislation, which began debate in the House of Commons on Tuesday and was driven by Sen. Nancy Greene Raine’s Child Health Protection Act.
While it might seem unusual to see a Liberal MP support legislation by a Conservative senator, the eclipse of political partisanship speaks to the indisputable rightness of the legislation, and also to the fact that Eyolfson and Green Raine both know a thing or two about physical health: Eyolfson has worked as an ER physician, and Green Raine is a former Olympic athlete.
Quebec is the only province to prohibit advertising to children under 13 years old. Green Raine’s bill initially set the age at 17 but, as Eyolfson sponsors her bill in the House, he is amending the age restriction to 13.
The legislation is driven by concerns that the number of obese children in Canada has tripled since 1980.
Almost one-third of Canadian children are considered overweight or obese. Of particular relevance to Manitoba, 62 per cent of young Indigenous children are considered overweight or obese.
The concerns are for both the personal health of obese children, who have a much higher risk of longterm chronic illnesses, and for the future of Canada’s national health-care system, which will have to bear the considerable expense of treating these chronically ill patients as they age. Granted, the upcoming restriction on marketing to children is not without critics. A concern raised in the House noted that the purveyors of food and drink that are classified as unhealthy often sponsor amateur sports teams. For example, will this legislation block the Timbits minorsports program that benefits 300,000 kids? That seems a concern that could be addressed if the minds creating the legislation are governed by common sense. It should be possible to craft rules that let corporations continue their commendable support of community initiatives, but without stooping to techniques, including brightly coloured packaging aimed at children and advertising that uses cartoon characters.
A second concern, as brought forward by the food industry, is that the proposed legislation doesn’t define “unhealthy food.” True, this definition will be necessary, although not easy to craft. For example, McDonald’s Happy Meals include the options of yogurt and apple slices.
While details of the legislation might be challenging to compose, its important legislators keep their focus on the main goal: it’s about the kids, and it’s about protecting them from psychological manipulation until they are old enough to understand marketing for what it is.