Evidence of meeting #49 for Health in the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was schools.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Conservative
The Acting Chair Conservative Tim Uppal
Let's begin.
Welcome, everybody, to meeting number 49 of the Standing Committee on Health and, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), our study on healthy living.
We would like to welcome students from the Carleton School of Journalism who are with us here today as guests.
Of course, we have with us our witnesses. From Action Santé 50 ans et plus, we have Josette Gravier-Grauby.
Conservative
The Acting Chair Conservative Tim Uppal
We have, from the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology, Audrey Hicks and Mary Duggan; from the Chronic Disease Prevention Alliance of Canada, Manuel Arango and Jim Chauvin; from the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, Linda Piazza; and from ParticipACTION, Kelly Murumets.
Kelly Murumets President and Chief Executive Officer, ParticipACTION
Hello and good afternoon.
Conservative
The Acting Chair Conservative Tim Uppal
Hello.
We also have with us, from Physical and Health Education Canada, Andrea Grantham.
Welcome.
We will start with opening statements from our witnesses--a five-minute statement, please--and we'll start with Action Santé 50 ans et plus.
You may begin.
Director General, Action Santé 50 ans et plus
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.
My name is Josette Gravier-Grauby. I am from Boucherville. I have two grown daughters and six grandchildren.
Should I sit or stand?
President and Chief Executive Officer, ParticipACTION
I love the enthusiasm. Go, girl.
Director General, Action Santé 50 ans et plus
Please forgive me. This is my first time before the committee and, hopefully, not my last.
My name is Josette Gravier-Grauby. I am from Boucherville, on Montreal's south shore. I have spent 23 years working there in gerontology.
Before I tell you a bit about myself and why I am here today, I would like to thank Luc Malo, the member for Verchères—Les-Patriotes. He invited me today. I have been waiting 15 years to be here. So I was almost under the impression I would be speaking to Mr. Harper, himself. While Mr. Harper may not be here, I am nonetheless addressing the VIPs.
Director General, Action Santé 50 ans et plus
I want to give you an idea of the people I work with. From September to November 2010, a total of 600 people took my classes 4 days a week, from Monday to Thursday. Right now, in February 2011, I have 545 people taking my exercise classes. So I would say that I am qualified to speak to you about health and the importance of making it a priority.
What I am going to tell you does not apply only to me or to those who take my classes in Boucherville, but to all of you, as well. As human beings, our health should be our first concern, even at a young age such as yours, madam. Our health is critical.
Both in Canada and around the world, we do not focus enough on prevention. We often hear that, of course, the population is getting older. And we should be taking that seriously, because, according to the statistics I am about to give you, the breaking point is just 10 years away. Anyone who needs their health today would do well to be really healthy down the road. Trying to get in to a hospital today is no easy feat. I am not sure about Ontario, but in Quebec, people wait 10 to 15 hours in emergency rooms. So addressing the issue is key.
What I would like all of you on this committee to do is to offer an incentive to those 50 years of age and older who are making an effort to stay healthy. First and foremost, they benefit, but so does society as a whole. Our population is getting older. Things are going great in Boucherville, but I want more than that. I want things to be going great around the country, as well. But no measures have been put in place. Every now and then, we are encouraged to “get active”, but that is not enough. And the proof is in our crowded hospitals.
So I am here to ask the government to lighten the tax burden on all those individuals who are striving to be healthy. I am not sure whether any of you saw Monday's La Presse. One person wrote that he was being penalized for trying to get in shape. He was physically active on a daily basis and made use of parks. You know as well as I do that the government is always trying to make cuts wherever it can. But the government should not make health cuts affecting those who want to get fit. The gentleman I read about in La Presse said he had to pay a fee in order to do his walking exercise. I find that appalling.
Today, we humans want to be healthy. Wouldn't it be great if we could take a pill that instantly made us healthy. No, no, no.
What does each and every one of us have to do? We all need to get in shape, because not only do we benefit individually, but we also benefit collectively, as an aging society.
So when Mr. Malo asked me to appear today, I thought to myself how much we all needed to get moving. I, myself, am no spring chicken, but I see many young faces here today. You need to realize when you are young that you will not always be able to count on your health. The day you get sick, even if you just get the flu, you stop contributing to society. The key is to start taking care of yourself as early as possible.
Let me give you an example. I am no superhero, but I am almost 72 and I have always exercised. Here's a little statistic, even though you may not all be keen on statistics. On November 18, 2010, I came across this figure, the amount that Quebec—because that is where I live—spends on health. It spends 27 billion, dollars not cents. That was the total for 2009-2011. This is 2011. But wait, that is nothing compared with what lies ahead: that figure will hit $90.2 billion by 2030-2031. Attention all young people, that is for you. Spending will increase by $63 billion. Think about it: how will you pay for all that? As we often hear, the old folks won't be around, so the young people will have to pick up the tab. And that is why I am in favour of prevention; that is what will keep us healthy, not dollars.
February 10th, 2011 / 3:35 p.m.
Conservative
The Acting Chair Conservative Tim Uppal
Thank you. You will have more time during the questions.
We are going to move on to—
Conservative
The Acting Chair Conservative Tim Uppal
—the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology.
Sorry, but I did give you extra time.
Director General, Action Santé 50 ans et plus
I want to come back. When do I come back? Really, it's over already?
Director General, Action Santé 50 ans et plus
But look at my folder! And that is a summary. Look at it!
Conservative
Director General, Action Santé 50 ans et plus
Will I get to speak again?
Conservative
The Acting Chair Conservative Tim Uppal
You will get time through the questions.
The Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology, please, for five minutes.
Director General, Action Santé 50 ans et plus
I did not get to say everything I wanted. There is too much to cover.
Thank you anyways for listening.
Dr. Audrey Hicks President, Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology
Good afternoon, Mr. Chair and members of the committee.
I'm Dr. Audrey Hicks. I'm the president of the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology. I'm accompanied by Mary Duggan, the manager of CSEP. We would like to thank you for inviting us to make a presentation to this committee.
Our society, which has existed since 1967, represents 4,500 members throughout the country. Our organization is committed to promoting healthy lifestyles, and regular physical activity has been clearly shown to be related to improved health. We are the principal body for physical activity, health and fitness research, and personal training in Canada—the gold standard of health and fitness professionals--and we are dedicated to getting Canadians safely active.
Together with the Public Health Agency of Canada, we developed the first Canadian physical activity guidelines for adults in 1998. Guidelines for older adults, and then children and youth, followed in 1999 and 2002.
Guidelines don't last forever, though. Advances in exercise science over the past 10 to 15 years convinced us that it was time for revision. After a four-year process involving systematic reviews, rigorous consultations, and input from over 1,000 industry stakeholders, experts, and international bodies, in January we released the first ever evidence-based physical activity guidelines for three different age group categories.
The physical activity guidelines for children and youth, adults, and older adults detail the recommended amount of physical activity to achieve health benefits. We hope you will take the time to view the guidelines that were provided to you this afternoon. They are accompanied by a written brief that outlines our recommendations to this committee.
The guidelines are important, but we would be naive to think that this is the end of the line. Stable--if not growing--funding for the promotion of healthy living is essential. This funding is an investment for our future.
Our first recommendation is that the Government of Canada support the development of sedentary behaviour guidelines for all age groups, the completion of physical activity guidelines for preschool children and gap groups, and the completion of physical activity clinical practice guidelines for persons with chronic disease.
We further recommend that funding from organizations such as PHAC be stable and reliable. The agency must be open and transparent in its relations with stakeholders. We were pleased to see that at the February 1 meeting of this committee, PHAC mentioned tart it would hold consultations with stakeholders as part of the pan-Canadian healthy living strategy. We are confident that those will be meaningful and transparent consultations with an intent to find real solutions to real problems.
CSEP also oversees two industry-leading health and fitness certifications: the CSEP-certified personal trainer and the CSEP-certified exercise physiologist. These certifications are no walk in the park. Applicants must complete post-secondary studies in human kinetics or health sciences. They must pass a national board examination. They must demonstrate a lifelong commitment to safe physical activity and healthy lifestyle choices.
We strongly believe that if the federal government supported the official recognition of these qualifications, then even more Canadians would be able to benefit from receiving accurate physical activity advice and services from qualified professionals.
We view this committee's role as crucial to setting direction and reviewing what is done. We welcome your initiative in starting this study and we hope you will regularly review the work done and consider developing a report on healthy living in our country.
While we think the government is on the right track in encouraging Canadians to get healthier and lead more active lifestyles, we know there's more work to be done. Our best chance for success is to work together with partners like ParticipACTION and PHAC to ensure that all Canadians have access to the best physical activity messages and opportunities. We truly believe that together we can help Canadians make positive changes to live healthier.
Thank you for your time.
Conservative
The Acting Chair Conservative Tim Uppal
We'll now go to the Chronic Disease Prevention Alliance of Canada.
Five minutes, please.