Merci, madame. Thank you for the invitation to appear before the committee to express the views of the Heart and Stroke Foundation.
You've already heard that trans fats are five to six times more harmful to the health of Canadians than saturated fats. I want to emphasize also that unlike sodium and sugar and other issues that are coming in front of this committee, trans fats have absolutely no nutritional benefit. There is nothing good about trans fats.
I had the privilege to co-chair the national trans fat task force, which, as you know, is a multi-stakeholder group and broadly representative. I believe all the groups around this table, if not the individuals, were members of that committee. I would emphasize that the final report called for regulations and that there were no dissenting opinions from any of the groups around the table in that report. I would also like to emphasize that it has been four years since the release of the report; a number of us on the trans fat task force believe that four years was a long-term period, and now we're still hearing four years later that it is not long enough.
We freely admit that progress has been made in a number of sectors. I believe those food industries that have made changes deserve kudos, because they have invested time and energy in the changes.
We have spoken to a number of them. They are frustrated that others don't have to, and that change has happened predominantly when the consumer can read the food label and put consumer pressure on the producers to take the trans fats out. It's not so true, as we have heard, in areas of the food services sector and in suppliers to that sector, but kudos are deserved where they're due.
The monitoring data itself showed that 25% of food products still contain trans fats, but that 25% is an underestimate, because not all products have been monitored. Many products high in trans fats were not monitored, and small and medium-sized food service operators were not adequately captured. The minister herself acknowledged that progress has been slower in this sector; frankly, we are not getting at the suppliers to that sector, and without regulation, we don't believe we can.
Even more problematic than the 25% figure, though, is that trans fats continue to be in baked goods. We recognized that it was going to be harder to take them out, but it is four years later. Some of these goods, which are often consumed by our children, remain alarmingly high in trans fats. They can even be found at dangerous levels in foods served to our children in hospitals, environments that were meant to protect the health of our children.
The other issue that came up in the trans fat task force was that regulations would send a clear signal to suppliers to create healthier alternatives. Without those regulations, I think we are hearing that this hasn't happened. That's an opportunity missed, but it's not too late.
Further reductions are certainly needed, and Madam Chair, the Canadian government has regulated to protect Canadians before. We've taken bisphenol A from plastic products such as baby bottles. We've recently passed legislation to protect children from tobacco marketing and to protect them from candy-flavoured cigarillos that were appealing to children. In the Speech from the Throne in March this government assured parents that it is working, through legislation, to ensure that--and I quote, “...their children's food, medicine and toys are safe”.
In summary, we think there are a lot of reasons to continue with a regulatory approach and to make a decision soon. There remain too many trans fats in our food supply. They have no nutritional value. I think sometimes that if there was any hint they were a carcinogen, they would have been long gone. There is no evidence that regulations are cost prohibitive, that implementation costs to government are high. There is no evidence that regulations are cost prohibitive for industry.
Reformulation of products is a business reality across all sectors. Federal regulations will level the playing field, and we have some sympathy for Ron, with the patchwork quilt that has been created across Canada. Regulations don't involve the banning of any food or infringing on the freedom of Canadians. They will still be able to buy those food products; they just won't be harmful to their health. Polling shows that up to 84% of Canadians are supportive of regulations.
My last point is this: prior to the 1970s we managed to live without them; we can do so again.
Merci.