Dear Honourable Senators:
Diabetes is an epidemic that increasingly is affecting our children. The prevalence of type 2 diabetes – a disease formerly only seen in adults - among children is rising rapidly, particularly among vulnerable populations including Indigenous children and children from lower income families.
This jeopardizes their health, both in the short term and long term. Diabetes is a leading cause of heart disease, kidney disease, blindness and amputation. A major contributor to this increase in diabetes among children is the increase in consumption of foods high in processed, sugary and salty foods.
Children are highly susceptible to messages promoting the consumption of these foods, which is why Quebec restricted such marketing in the 1980s. Studies show that this restriction is working - children in Quebec consume less junk food that kids elsewhere in the country.
The Senate has an incredibly important role to play in introducing legislation to serve the best interests of Canadians, and a key recent example of that influence was the introduction by Senator Greene-Raine of Bill S-228, the Child Health Protection Act.
This important legislation has successfully passed through the Senate and the House and awaits ratification by the Senate. Please do not allow this legislation to die on the table at the end of this session of Parliament.
Please act now to vote to pass Bill S-228 and protect the future health of our children.
Sincerely,
Russell Williams
Senior Vice President, Mission
Diabetes Canada