Another hurdle cleared for Kamloops Senator Nancy Greene Raine’s private members bill.
Her Child Health Protection Act was amended by a House of Commons Committee and returned for 3rd reading which represents approval in principle.
Greene Raine says, her bill prohibits the marketing of unhealthy food and beverages to children with final approval from the both the House and Senate within a month.
“There is hundreds of millions of dollars being spent and hopefully that will stop. There’s no doubt there has been all kinds of evidence this does impact on children’s health, and leads to the rising rates of obesity that we are finding.”
The Committee made a number of amendments including changing the definition of children to under 13 instead of under 17, and Parliament has 5 years to study the effect of this legislation to determine whether there is an increase in the advertising of unhealthy food directed at 13 year-olds.