Expand Healthy Eating Strategy
Petitioners ask ministers to convene a Canada-wide summit, expand the Healthy Eating Strategy to cover malnutrition, and require CIHI and Statistics Canada to collect and report malnutrition data. The government responds that Food Policy and school-food investments address food security, that HES didn’t target malnutrition, and that solutions span sectors.
Why we would sign this petition
- It would create a coordinated federal process (summit and framework) to prioritize malnutrition and guide national policy responses.
- Including malnutrition in the Healthy Eating Strategy would align federal nutrition policy to better address vulnerable groups’ needs.
- Mandating CIHI and Statistics Canada to collect malnutrition data would provide reliable baseline metrics to target interventions and measure progress.
Why we wouldn’t sign this petition
- Federal action could overlap existing Food Policy and school-food initiatives, risking duplication rather than adding new capacity.
- Expanding the strategy and convening a summit require sustained funding and intergovernmental coordination, which can be slow and costly.
- Malnutrition solutions cross jurisdictions and sectors; a federal framework alone may not deliver local implementation or timely results.
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 widespread across Canada and is a serious and neglected health issue; Approximately 4.3 million older adults in our communities are malnourished; up to 1 in 3 children and up to 1 in 2 adults admitted to hospital are malnourished and up to 1 in 2 nursing home residents are malnourished; Malnutrition is estimated to cost the Canadian healthcare system nearly $2 billion annually; Malnutrition is easily preventable and treatable, yet it is not officially recognized as a disease in Canada. We, the undersigned citizens of Madawaska-Restigouche, call upon the Minister of Health, the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food to: 1. Convene a Canada-wide summit on malnutrition to urgently begin developing a framework for action on malnutrition care in Canada; 2. Expand the Healthy Eating Strategy to include malnutrition and better meet the needs of vulnerable Canadians; 3. Mandate the collection and reporting of malnutrition data by the Canadian Institute for 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. Budget 2025 recently announced that the Program will receive permanent funding of $216.6 million per year, starting in 2029-30. 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 aimed to improve healthy eating information, improve nutrition quality of foods and protect vulnerable populations, it did not target malnutrition. 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.