Amend Healthy Eating Strategy
Petitioners ask ministers to convene a pan‑Canadian malnutrition summit, include malnutrition in the Healthy Eating Strategy, and require CIHI and Statistics Canada to publish malnutrition data. The government responds that existing Food Policy investments and the National School Food Program improve access, but the Healthy Eating Strategy does not target malnutrition.
Why we would sign this petition
- Would establish a national framework and summit to coordinate malnutrition prevention and care across sectors, matching petitioners’ call for urgent action.
- Including malnutrition in the Healthy Eating Strategy would focus policy attention and potential resources on vulnerable Canadians the petition highlights.
- Mandatory CIHI and Statistics Canada reporting would produce consistent national data to track prevalence and measure program effectiveness.
Why we wouldn’t sign this petition
- The government says Food Policy and school food investments already improve access, so a summit or Strategy change may duplicate existing efforts.
- The petition’s aims cross sectors and jurisdictions, so federal measures alone may be insufficient without provincial, territorial and local cooperation.
- Mandating new national metrics could be costly and complex to standardize and implement across diverse health systems and settings.
The summary and both sets of reasons are AI-generated from the petition and given equal weight. Claims are the petitioners’ own; consult the official record for the full text.
Official petition
Petition to the Minister of Health, the Minister of Finance, and the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food WHEREAS: Malnutrition is an overlooked serious health condition that is prevalent across Canada; Approximately 4.3 million older adults are malnourished in our communities, up to 1 in 3 in children and up to 1 in 2 adults admitted to hospital are malnourished and up to 1 in 2 residents in long term care homes are malnourished; Malnutrition is estimated to cost the Canadian healthcare system $2.1 billion dollars per year; and Malnutrition is easily treatable and preventable however it is not officially recognized as a condition or disease in Canada. THEREFORE: We, the undersigned community and residents of Kingston and the Islands, call upon the Minister of Health, the Minister of Finance, and the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, to: 1. Convene a pan-Canadian Malnutrition Summit to initiate the urgent work of developing a framework for action on malnutrition care in Canada; 2. Expand Canada's Healthy Eating Strategy to include malnutrition to address the needs of vulnerable Canadians; and 3. Mandate the collection and reporting of malnutrition metrics by Canadian Institutes of Health Information and Statistics Canada.
Government response
Response by the Minister of Health Signed by Maggie Chi Strengthening food security and ensuring consistent access to enough safe, nutritious, and culturally appropriate food is crucial for preventing malnutrition. The Food Policy for Canada seeks to improve the availability and accessibility of nutritious foods and support healthier food environments, especially for populations who are most at risk for malnutrition. Under the Food Policy for Canada, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has invested in the Local Food Infrastructure Fund to improve local production of foods that support healthy eating. Budget 2024 announced $62.9 million over three years to renew and expand the Local Food Infrastructure Fund to support community organizations across Canada to invest in local food infrastructure to improve the production of nutritious foods and increase their availability in community settings. Priority is given to Indigenous and Black communities, along with other equity-deserving groups. As part of this funding, up to $20.2 million was allocated to the School Food Infrastructure Fund, which supports not-for-profit organizations to improve infrastructure for school food programs as a complement to the National School Food Program. Through the National School Food Program, the Government of Canada is investing $1 billion over five years to work with provinces and territories and Indigenous partners to enhance and expand school food programs across Canada, guided by the National School Food Policy. It will help increase access to nutritious and culturally appropriate foods for children, especially those from low-income or food-insecure households. For a participating family with two children in school, this program can result in annual savings of $800 or more. The National School Food Policy outlines the federal government’s long-term vision for the National School Food Program and school food programming in Canada. The Policy sets out core principles and objectives aligned with best practices to promote healthier food environments in schools, including the promotion of food literacy, alignment with Canada’s Food Guide, as well as safeguarding children from unhealthy food marketing. The Healthy Eating Strategy (HES) was launched in 2016 as a collection of initiatives intended to improve Canada’s food environment and support healthier food choices. HES focused on initiatives including a revision of the food guide, new nutrition labels and a ban on trans fat. While HES aims to improve healthy eating information, improve nutrition quality of foods and protect vulnerable populations, it does not target malnutrition. Malnutrition was not in scope as levers to prevent or treat this condition and falls outside of HES’ mandate. Efforts to promote healthy eating continue, and while following the food guide would prevent malnutrition in healthy individuals, solutions to malnutrition are complex and cross sectors and jurisdictions.