Thank you.
I have brought Marie-France Lamarche, director of chronic disease prevention and community programs directorate at the first nations, Inuit, and health branch in Health Canada; Ann Ellis, who is with the office of nutrition policy and promotion, health products and food branch, Health Canada; and Joan Katz, director of education planning and policy in the education branch at INAC. Those are my government colleagues.
Our Nova Scotia partner is unfortunately not here yet, I see. I hope she will be able to join us, because I'd like to hear from her, as I'm sure you would.
Thank you, Mr. Chair and members of the committee. I'm pleased to be here to discuss the involvement of the federal government around school health, with particular regard to obesity. It has been well established that the problem of overweight Canadians and obesity is escalating, particularly in children, as the overweight and obesity rates have tripled over the past 15 years.
Addressing this complex phenomenon requires a coordinated effort linking the main actors across settings and across sectors, not only at the national but also at the international level. Eating habits and physical activity patterns are clearly important determinants of healthy body weight. Further, interactions between a range of behavioural, social, and physical determinants are largely associated with the rise in obesity.
The federal, provincial, and territorial ministers of health endorsed the pan-Canadian healthy living strategy in 2005 to promote healthy weights through a focus on physical activity and healthy eating. It has a particular emphasis on childhood obesity in the school setting. Under the auspices of this strategy, the recently established Joint Consortium for School Health is an example of collaboration and coordinated action involving the health and education sectors.
Such collaboration on the part of the joint consortium is supportive of the World Health Organization's comprehensive school health approach, which calls for the integration of health perspectives into all aspects of school activities and engages communities as a whole. The four main elements of the WHO approach are teaching and learning, health and other support services, supportive social environments, and a healthy physical environment.
The joint consortium is an intergovernmental consortium developed to act as a catalyst in strengthening cooperation among and within governments and those they partner with in this field. The joint consortium can provide leadership and facilitate a comprehensive coordinated approach to school health, as well as enhance the capacity of the health and education systems to work more effectively in the promotion of health through the school setting.
Membership to the consortium exists on a voluntary basis. It remains open and inclusive. Member jurisdictions of the joint consortium currently include the Public Health Agency of Canada and all provinces and territories except for Quebec and Alberta. It is supported by a small secretariat responsible for the organization of national activities, and a network of school health coordinators designated and directed by each jurisdiction. The secretariat is housed within the lead province. That function will rotate between members; the current lead is the province of British Columbia, as represented by its Ministry of Education.
Governance is provided through a deputy minister committee and a management committee. These committees help ensure systemic integration by having, again, health and education sector representation from each member jurisdiction. The Government of Canada is represented on the deputy minister committee by the chief public health officer of Canada, Dr. David Butler-Jones.
The consortium model fits well with an intersectoral approach. The joint consortium is premised on the understanding that schools play a critical role in the positive relationship between health and learning, and that effective health promotion can only take place within the school setting through an integration of both health and education sector resources and ongoing cooperation and coordination at the local, provincial, and national levels.
In pursuing its mandate to strengthen the health and education sectors' capacity to work together, the joint consortium is initiating efforts towards knowledge transfer, surveillance and monitoring of data, and the sharing of best practices. This typically involves building partnerships within and across governments, as well as with NGOs and community organizations. As the joint consortium evolves, the number of partners is also likely to grow towards achieving, again, a more comprehensive school health approach.
The joint consortium also dedicates time for creating tools to assist its members in developing programs and policies related to priority issues and risk factors in their schools. During the consortium's initial development phase, there are four working groups: nutrition, physical activity, sexual health, and social behaviours. These working groups are just now getting up and running.
As the only federal representative on the consortium, PHAC created the Federal Coordinating Committee for School Health. This federal committee acts as a single window to access relevant federal research initiatives and specific programs around school health issues. In support of this function, so far the committee has completed its draft inventory of federal activities that might be or are directly related to school health.
A particular challenge currently faced by the consortium is the issue of aboriginal school health. Aboriginal student health is certainly a priority for the consortium. However, at this time its role and focus specific to this population is not yet defined.
The current structure of the consortium is likely suited to addressing the unique needs and considerations of aboriginal students living off reserve and, in particular, aboriginal students living in the territories, but because health services and education are delivered differently on reserve, a separate approach may be required to advance school health specific to first nations.
In this regard there was early discussion among federal partners, namely the Public Health Agency, Health Canada, and INAC. INAC and Health Canada have had the opportunity to follow the consortium's progress, particularly any work that has been directed toward the needs of aboriginal students. In the future, opportunities might evolve for some collaborative work on some of our projects.
It is also clear that national aboriginal organizations and communities will need to be engaged in addressing the needs of aboriginal students. In the interim, Health Canada continues to support the health of aboriginal students through its existing community-based programs. For example, healthy eating and physical activity are promoted through the aboriginal diabetes initiative.
The joint consortium is also increasing its international focus. It is delivering a presentation this coming June at the International Union for Health Promotion and Education conference, as well as hosting a World Health Organization technical meeting on school health in Vancouver just prior to the IUHPE conference. The joint consortium is also contributing to Canada's efforts in the development of a WHO policy framework for the prevention of chronic diseases in schools.
An effective school health strategy needs to go beyond the classroom into the halls, the lunchrooms, the schoolyards, meetings, and certainly connect with local communities. The consortium, with its public health focus, can provide a stewardship role by harnessing action from the myriad of actors and potential players both within and outside of government.
The responsibility for school health lies solidly with provincial and territorial governments and their school boards. However, national and provincial and territorial agencies and non-governmental groups are also key contributors to the comprehensive approach to school health. The challenge is going to be to draw together the knowledge and the capacity of all these actors.
The federal government, particularly through PHAC and Health Canada, is committed to maintaining and improving the health of Canadians and recognizes the important role that this comprehensive school health approach plays in the health of children and youth, particularly related to childhood obesity.
The joint consortium is still a new entity, but it holds a lot of promise as a positive way we can work together toward improving the health of school-age children.
Thank you.