Toronto, June 14, 2017:<\/strong> Advertisers have been denied the opportunity to brief Senators on their concerns with the draconian provisions of Bill S-228, An Act to amend the Food and Drugs Act (prohibiting food and beverage marketing directed at children).<\/p>\nThe Senate Social Affairs, Science and Technology Committee (SOCI) has refused to meet face-to-face with the Association of Canadian Advertisers (ACA) to address the Bill\u2019s shortcomings and costs that will be downloaded on parents and taxpayers, despite two appeals to appear.<\/p>\n
\u201cAdvertisers want to work with legislators to devise a reasoned and responsible strategy to address the complex issue of obesity,\u201d said Ron Lund, President and CEO, ACA.<\/p>\n
The Bill sponsored by Senator Nancy Greene Raine would ban food and beverage ads online and on virtually every TV program broadcast in Canada, but not those emanating from the U.S., Lund said.<\/p>\n
The SOCI Committee is moving forward with legislation that will prohibit corporate sponsorship for many iconic and beneficial events and activities for kids, despite scant evidence that banning advertising is an effective means to address obesity.<\/p>\n
In fact, Qu\u00e9bec\u2019s 37-year-old ban on children\u2019s advertising, touted as a model by the committee, has not had an impact on obesity rates when compared with the rest of Canada, Lund said.<\/p>\n
Qu\u00e9bec\u2019s own Ministry of Health and Social Services website states that, despite the restrictions, \u2018the proportion of obese children in Qu\u00e9bec is not significantly different from that in the rest of Canada.\u2019 Further, Statistics Canada data shows the childhood obesity rate is the same in Quebec as in B.C., where there is no ban.<\/p>\n
\u201cVictims of the legislation will include the very people it seeks to protect,\u201d Lund said. \u201cEvents and activities such as annual Santa Claus Parades, McHappy Day for Ronald McDonald House and other children\u2019s charities, Timbits minor hockey and soccer programs, which annually supports sports-activities for more than 300,000 children country-wide, will all be put in jeopardy and\/or cease to exist.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lund also questioned Senator Greene Raine\u2019s stated intent to raise the age threshold for the Bill to under 17. By that age, young adults can hunt with firearms (age 12), fly a plane solo (14), or watch programs such as Criminal Minds<\/em>, which depicts gruesome physical and psychological violence \u2013 which is one of the most-watched shows among children ages 2-11.<\/p>\n\u201cI find this particularly ironic when the government is promising to legalize marijuana for those 18 and over,\u201d Lund said. \u201cEssentially, they\u2019re saying that between 17 and 18, a person\u2019s maturity level grows from not being able to withstand food marketing to choosing marijuana products a year later.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bill S-228 will also result in the closure of many corporate marketing departments across Canada, meaning less work for advertising agencies, design and production houses and Canadian actors and technicians, as well as less revenue for an already-suffering Canadian media industry.<\/p>\n
Lund says he is disappointed by the Senate Committee\u2019s approach to steamroll this legislation forward, influenced by the NGO community and their agenda-based research. This runs contrary to Prime Minister Trudeau\u2019s stated commitment to evidence-based decision-making.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope the Government devises new plans to meaningfully address childhood obesity without inflicting the collateral damage inherent to the current proposal,\u201d Lund said. \u201cA holistic strategy is required and we hope that marketers will be given the opportunity to work collaboratively with health officials.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Legislation that would ban advertising to those under age 17 will download cost of many kids\u2019 team sports, events and camps on parents and taxpayers Association of Canadian Advertisers (ACA) not welcome at Committee Hearing Toronto, June 14, 2017: Advertisers have been denied the opportunity to brief Senators on their concerns with the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":26,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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