Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Wednesday, February 08, 2012

Ottawa 'poisoning' kids: MP

OTTAWA -- Manitoba NDP MP Pat Martin says the government is poisoning Canada's kids by backing away from a plan to limit trans fats in Canadian food products.

An access to information request from Health Canada was made public Tuesday, showing Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq killed a government plan in 2009 to impose strict limits on trans fats. An announcement was set for October 2009 to phase in limits on trans fats in all Canadian foods to protect Canadians and ensure a level playing field for the food industry. The regulations were to be published in January 2010, and the industry was to have 12 months to comply. A communications plan was developed to announce the plan, but when it went to Aglukkaq's office for approval it was shelved.

"She is undermining the will of Parliament and poisoning another generation of children," said Martin. "I am terribly disappointed."

In 2004, the House of Commons passed a motion calling on the government to admit trans fats were bad for people and to set up a task force with an eye on developing regulations or legislation to limit trans fats within one year.

Trans fats are unsaturated fats that occur often in food processing. They are considered to be among the worst fats to consume because they raise the levels of so-called bad cholesterol and lower what is known as good cholesterol. They have been linked to heart disease. Most trans fats are formed when liquid oils are turned into semi-solids such as shortening or margarine.

In 2007, the federal government gave the food industry two years to adopt recommendations from a government task force that said trans fats should make up less than two per cent of the total fat in vegetable oils and soft margarines and less than five per cent in all other foods. The government said at the time if the industry didn't comply voluntarily Ottawa would make the limits mandatory.

The government released compliance reports in 2008 and 2009 showing some sectors were meeting the recommendations but others were not. In particular, the baking industry was struggling the most.

Fast-food companies have generally been successful at replacing trans fats with alternatives in french fries and other foods.

In December 2009, two months after Aglukkaq shelved the plan to regulate the industry, a briefing note to the minister pushed her to reconsider the regulations. The note says regulating the limits would save the health system between $5 billion and $9 billion over 20 years, while the cost to the food industry would be around $200 million.

In 2010, both Aglukkaq and a Health Canada official suggested regulations were still a possibility if the industry didn't comply.

However, when asked about the issue Tuesday, Aglukkaq indicated regulations are no longer on the table.

"I have instructed my department to continue its engagement with stakeholders to identify the challenges and how best to overcome them without adding a regulatory burden," she said in question period.

Martin said that position is unsupportable.

"The general public is under the delusion that we already dealt with trans fats," he said. "We raised it to the profile where people think trans fats are no longer in our food. Meanwhile they are still clogging the arteries of 10-year-olds."

Original Article
Source: winnipeg free press 
Author: Mia Rabson 

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