Mulcair proposes new measure to ban food advertising directed toward children

To tackle growing child obesity rates, an NDP government will ban food advertising directed towards children across Canada.

“Parents have enough on the go without having to worry that their kids are being bombarded by advertisements for junk food. I don't want that for my grandkids and I know we can do better,” said NDP Leader Tom Mulcair.

Mulcair made the announcement at the Championing Public Health Nutrition Conference. A third of Canadian children are overweight or obese, and 70 per cent of children between the ages of four and eight do not eat enough fruits and vegetables.

Food advertising targeting children has been banned for over 30 years in Quebec, and that province has one of the lowest child obesity levels in Canada. The ban in Quebec was found to effectively reduce unhealthy food consumption by as much as 13 per cent each week.

“Good nutrition is smart public policy, and we know that eating more nutritious food means that Canadians live longer, better lives. We’ll put the power to make healthy food choices back in the hands of parents,” said Mulcair.