Evidence of meeting #146 for Health in the 42nd Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was school.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Executive Director, Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Equity, Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention Branch, Public Health Agency of Canada
I'll start by answering the funding questions. I'll then give the floor to Mr. MacKenzie for the research questions.
Executive Director, Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Equity, Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention Branch, Public Health Agency of Canada
We were very pleased with the funding because, at about the same time as the common vision, there was an investment in ParticipACTION. You'll soon be hearing from its president, Elio Antunes.
The federal government allocated $25 million, and partners in other sectors doubled the investment. It sent a strong signal.
NDP
Anne Minh-Thu Quach NDP Salaberry—Suroît, QC
Is it a new budget, or is the same budget renewed each year?
Executive Director, Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Equity, Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention Branch, Public Health Agency of Canada
It's an investment spread over a five-year period. It's a new investment.
Executive Director, Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Equity, Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention Branch, Public Health Agency of Canada
Yes.
NDP
Anne Minh-Thu Quach NDP Salaberry—Suroît, QC
Is it the only new investment that concerns physical activity among young people?
Executive Director, Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Equity, Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention Branch, Public Health Agency of Canada
Yes.
NDP
Anne Minh-Thu Quach NDP Salaberry—Suroît, QC
It's the only one. The investment amounts to $25 million over five years, so $5 million a year for the whole country.
Executive Director, Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Equity, Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention Branch, Public Health Agency of Canada
Our programming already provides a funding base for multi-sectoral partnerships that focus on physical activity, healthy eating and tobacco use. This is our core programming. However, ParticipACTION's investment has been added over a five-year period.
NDP
Anne Minh-Thu Quach NDP Salaberry—Suroît, QC
Okay.
Are there specific measures for disadvantaged regions, rural areas, Indigenous communities and vulnerable populations?
Executive Director, Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Equity, Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention Branch, Public Health Agency of Canada
We have open programming. The projects often focus on groups where there's less physical activity or a lack of healthy eating. Even though the program is open, this is often the case. Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada is one example. Kid Food Nation is another example. The UpLift partnership, for which the funding was announced last week in Nova Scotia, will benefit every young person in that province and will increase physical activity and healthy eating. It's not a targeted program per se.
NDP
Anne Minh-Thu Quach NDP Salaberry—Suroît, QC
Okay.
I have one last question about funding.
As my colleague told me, Quebec didn't participate in the 2018 common vision. Has Quebec still received funding equivalent to the funding provided to the other provinces and territories to improve physical activity programs for young people?
Executive Director, Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Equity, Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention Branch, Public Health Agency of Canada
We don't only provide money to the provinces as part of our programming. The money is for the projects. This doesn't involve a transfer of money to the provinces per se. The common vision wasn't a transfer of money to the provinces. It's a policy framework. Other funding projects align with the common vision theme.
NDP
Anne Minh-Thu Quach NDP Salaberry—Suroît, QC
Okay.
I'll move on to you, Mr. MacKenzie.
A number of community groups in my constituency work with young people in particular, including youth centres. These groups say that they don't have enough funding to work with young people in the area of physical activity.
You talked about how screens affect inactivity among young people. Nancy Ashton, who works at the Centre de la petite enfance Abracadabra, said that the impact has been devastating. She said that it has created delays and issues in terms of motor skills, but also in terms of the cognitive abilities of young people.
Is there any research on this subject to determine how to proceed? Have strategies been developed for parents to help them handle screens?
There are also more and more screens in schools.
Director, Behaviours, Environments and Lifespan Division, Centre for Surveillance and Applied Research, Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention Branch, Public Health Agency of Canada
There is extensive research ongoing. Your question has two pieces to it. One piece of it is how parents can discourage the kids from using the screen time too much. The other one is about the long-term health consequences. I'm going to break it up into those two pieces.
On the first question, there are older studies that are continuously being updated that followed children from 1994 through 2011. Now they've stopped interviewing them, but they're following them administratively through census, education, the justice system, the health data system and all kinds of different data sources to look at the overall outcomes. They followed them for the first 16 years to understand how they were living their lives and how active they were. Now they're following them administratively to see where they end up, based on their earlier life choices.
With regard to the second piece, there is ongoing research as well to try to figure out how parents can reduce the screen time of their children. I haven't seen anything that seems to be the magic solution yet. I have three teenagers myself and I would be interested in that solution, but I've seen no concrete recommendations so far.
NDP
Anne Minh-Thu Quach NDP Salaberry—Suroît, QC
Some countries, such as Denmark—or other Scandinavian countries—have pilot projects involving outdoor schools.
Is Canada considering outdoor education as well? Do we have pilot projects here or in Indigenous communities, for example, where outdoor education could have a cultural dimension?
Executive Director, Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Equity, Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention Branch, Public Health Agency of Canada
Last week, we announced the Upflift partnership, which I mentioned. The partnership brings together all school boards in Nova Scotia, including the board that represents the Mi'kmaq communities in the province. I gather that the adaptations are based on the school.
In some communities, these options are being considered. I know that, in the territories, it's not funded by our teams. However, we're looking at ways to incorporate it into the education system. This is being done together with the provinces and territories.
NDP
Anne Minh-Thu Quach NDP Salaberry—Suroît, QC
Okay. I have one last question.
According to Mr. Peterson, the groups that he consulted said that the best practices for physical activity among Canada's young people aren't being shared.
Did you develop this as part of the common vision?
Executive Director, Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Equity, Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention Branch, Public Health Agency of Canada
Yes. The framework is there, but the implementation is in the development stage. It's in everyone's interest to systematically share lessons learned and to know where things work for different populations or sub-populations and why they work. We've enhanced this sharing process in our programs. However, as you said, other sectors and people are also very involved. It would be good to have a more systematic approach.
Executive Director, Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Equity, Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention Branch, Public Health Agency of Canada
Thank you.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bill Casey
That completes our time. I want to thank the Public Health Agency for bringing this information to the committee.
We're going to suspend for just a few minutes while we reschedule and bring in the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology and Participaction.
We'll suspend for two minutes.
Thanks very much.