Government too vague on obesity fight, Senate says

The Senate says the Liberal government is not acting quickly enough to combat the growing problem of obesity.

“We urge them to reconsider. The health of Canadians is at stake,” Conservative Sen. Kelvin Ogilvie said Friday.

The standing Senate committee on social affairs, science and technology, which Ogilvie chairs, made the rather unusual move of issuing a news release that amounted to a thanks-butno-thanks reaction to the way the Liberal government responded to its March report on obesity in Canada.

The report called on the government to help people lead healthier lifestyles by, among other things, banning food and beverage ads aimed at children, figuring out how to use infrastructure funding to encourage more pedestrian-friendly communities and exploring the possibility of a tax on soda pop.

Health Minister Jane Philpott and Sport Minister Carla Qualtrough told the committee in a letter this month they agreed with the recommendations in principle, highlighting ongoing work in their departments, program funding announced in the federal budget and future plans included in their mandate letters.

OUR REPORT MAKES IT CLEAR THAT THE STATUS QUO IS NOT ACCEPTABLE.

They said the government would continue to monitor emerging evidence on whether a tax on beverages containing added sugar or artificial sweeteners would be effective.

However, the Finance Department weighed the pros and cons of such a tax ahead of the March 22 budget, but decided against it.

“Our report makes it clear that the status quo is not acceptable,” Ogilvie said in an interview Friday.

The report called obesity a crisis and an epidemic, saying that between 48,000 and 66,000 Canadians die each year from diseases or conditions linked to being overweight. It urged the federal government to lead a national campaign to combat the problem.

“The minister’s list of activities that are ongoing — many of them are very good, but they’re obviously inadequate to deal with the fact that two-thirds of (adult) Canadians are oversight or obese, leading to, as time goes by in their lives, diminished quality of life and significant health-care costs,” Ogilvie said.