Non-partisan motion asking the Government of Canada to intervene quickly to eliminate trans fats
Whereas the Lasalle borough, Le Plateau-Mont-Royal, Montréal and Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce have recently adopted a motion calling for a rapid response of the Government of Canada to eliminate trans fats food;
Whereas the Association for Public Health (ASPQ) recently launched a campaign calling on the federal government to ban industrial trans fats in food products and calls on partners throughout Quebec, including municipalities, to support this initiative;
Whereas the Dietitians of Canada have publicly supported this approach to remove trans fat from processed foods and those offered in restaurants;
Whereas clinical research has determined that the consumption of trans fats significantly increases the risk of heart disease and diabetes and that, according to public health authorities, trans fat consumption is responsible for thousands of premature deaths annually across the Canada;
Whereas Health Canada requires that the content in trans fat from food be disclosed on food labels, and that this requirement has led many consumers to opt for healthier choices and convinced of fast food chains and food manufacturers to substitute healthy ingredients to trans fats;
Whereas the previous federal government rejected the demands of healthcare professionals to prohibit unnatural trans fats and instead asked the food industry and fast food to voluntarily reduce trans fat content of their foods;
Whereas partially hydrogenated oils are still found frequently in biscuits, cakes, icings, some margarines, cooking popcorn in the microwave, pancake mix, crackers, coffee creamers and other products;
Whereas despite increased awareness of consumers, the voluntary approach has failed to completely eliminate the health problems associated with trans fat consumption;
Whereas the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has determined that trans fat consumption, at any level, is not recognized as prudent and decreed in June, a transitional period three years after that trans fats should be eliminated completely from all products offered to consumers;
Whereas the mandate letter by the Prime Minister to the Minister of Health encourages in particular the Ministry to implement similar regulations to those of the United States to eliminate trans fats;
It is proposed by Marvin Rotrand
And supported by Manon Barbe, Erika Duchesne, Lorraine Pagé, Claude Dauphin and Dominic Perri
That Council support initiative to eliminate trans fat and encourage Health Canada to quickly issue regulations that will ultimately lead to the complete elimination of trans fat of Canadian food products.