Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
I'm going to start with a brief preamble and leave a couple of minutes for answers.
First of all, I'd like to thank all the witnesses for coming here to this committee. I'd like to congratulate you and thank you for the great work that you do on this file. This is a mammoth task, and I don't think anyone around this table thinks this is easy. We're simply trying to make some suggestions that will improve the health outcomes of Canadians.
I'll ask my questions all at once and then give you a chance to respond, Ms. Bush, or whoever chooses to respond.
Is this a fait acompli? Are you here today and saying that basically it's a done deal, the thing is put together, it's basically ready to go to printing; that this is all very interesting, but the new food guide is put together and ready to go?
I'm going to back up a bit, Mr. Chair, and say to Ms. Brulé that her comment that you can't blame obesity on the pyramid is certainly a point well taken.
If it's not a fait accompli, I'd urge you to make it as easy as possible. That's been my comment as the food guide has been brought up. Hopefully this is a user-friendly food guide.
My next question is, could you expand upon how you're going to get the message out? I heard you say something about something for the fridge, which is very fitting. Maybe it could be a pared-down highlights card of the consumer hard copy. Let's be honest, no one is going to read the consumer hard copy if it's any more than four pages long. I would ultimately like to see a laminated card that's double-sided, flashy, and delivers all the messages. That may not be possible, but a highlighted card that could be distributed in a general practitioner's office would be excellent.
How are you going to get the message out? That's my question. I'd urge a massive television campaign, and I think you'd have great success in disseminating the message through that medium.
My final question would be, have you considered having recipe books that comply with the Canada's Food Guide recommendations? Have Canadians submit recipes that might comply. There could be endless recipes, and people could just click on the web or buy it. Now, that's something I'd buy, a recipe book that would comply, but I'm not going to buy the consumer hard copy and go through all the different servings and portions.
Those are my questions. First, is it is fait accompli? Second, how will you get the message out? Are you considering these helpful ways of getting that message out?
Thank you.