Food Systems Lens on the Minister of Health's Mandate Letter

Find here the Minister of Health (Jean-Yves Duclos)'s mandate letter.

Below, you will find sub-headers noting the priorities related to food systems. We include what we believe to be significant gaps in this letter.

Food system priorities within this mandate include:

• Recognizing that a healthy population is key to reducing vulnerability to health events, promote healthy eating by advancing the Healthy Eating Strategy. This includes finalizing the front-of-package labelling to promote healthy food choices and supporting restrictions on the commercial marketing of food and beverages to children. 

• Work with partners to take increased and expedited action to monitor, prevent and mitigate the serious and growing threat of antimicrobial resistance and preserve the effectiveness of antimicrobials.

• To ensure Canadians are protected from risks associated with the use of pesticides and to better protect human health, wildlife and the environment, modernize and strengthen the Pest Control Products Act to ensure it supports transparency, use of independent scientific evidence and input to the decision-making process.

• Continue engaging with willing provinces and territories towards national universal pharmacare

Gaps identified by Food Secure Canada in this mandate letter include:

• Not named in the development of the National National School Food Policy and to work towards a national school nutritious meal program with Ministers Bibeau and Gould.