Madam Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I speak to Motion M-155, which reads as follows:
That in the opinion of this House, the government should consider the advisability of requiring that no person shall sell an alcoholic beverage in Canada unless the container in which the beverage is sold carries the following visible and clearly printed label: “WARNING: Drinking alcohol during pregnancy can cause birth defects”.
Before beginning, I wish to congratulate the member for Winnipeg North Centre most sincerely on moving this motion.
Before I address the motion itself I should like to recognize the longstanding efforts of my colleague, the member for Mississauga South. Members on both sides of the House will be aware that he has been involved with the issue for many years. He has been an advocate for efforts to combat fetal alcohol syndrome. I applaud his tenacity.
Furthermore, this tenacity was reflected in certain undertakings by the Prime Minister in his Address in Reply to the Speech from the Throne on January 31.
I am pleased to stand in support of the motion. I agree that warning labels on alcoholic beverages should be considered. Currently Yukon, Australia and some U.S. jurisdictions require alcohol warning labels. While research studies demonstrate that it may not be the most effective way to reach groups at a high risk of alcoholic use, it is timely to review these findings.
However, warning labels on alcohol must not be taken in isolation. They must be part of a comprehensive strategy to combat alcohol abuse, which in turn can lead to fetal alcohol syndrome and fetal alcohol effects. An effective comprehensive strategy must include a number of elements: awareness-raising campaigns, research, life-skills based approaches, and substance abuse prevention programs.
Let me outline quickly what the Government of Canada is doing to address the tragedy of fetal alcohol syndrome.
A wide variety of measures have been and are being implemented in Canada to address this syndrome. These measures have included extensive attempts and many programs to educate the public about the dangers of drinking while pregnant.
On January 28, 2000 a fetal alcohol syndrome-fetal alcohol effects initiative received $11 million for three years. This was an announcement that we made at the time and the program is now under way. This initiative builds on the excellent work currently being done in the provinces and territories and in communities by parents and support groups.
The $11 million in funding is being used to enhance activities in a number of areas, including public awareness and education, surveillance, early identification and diagnosis, fetal alcohol syndrome and fetal alcohol effects training and capacity development, co-ordination, integration of services, and a strategic project fund.
Health Canada has established a national advisory committee on fetal alcohol syndrome and fetal alcohol effects. The committee will provide independent strategic advice and expertise to Health Canada on fetal alcohol syndrome and fetal alcohol effects and promote collaboration and partnerships across disciplines and sectors.
Health Canada is also working with the provinces and territories to develop a national public education and awareness campaign on this syndrome and on fetal alcohol effects. A joint launch of a poster and pamphlet is expected in May 2001.
Furthermore, the First Nations and Inuit Health Branch is also developing a fetal alcohol syndrome and fetal alcohol effects public awareness campaign that reaches out to first nations and Inuit populations in a culturally sensitive manner.
In order to ensure access to appropriate treatment for pregnant women with substance use problems, Health Canada also provides funding to the provinces and territories through the alcohol and drug treatment and rehabilitation program. Also through this program, Health Canada promotes best practices, evaluates model programs, and disseminates leading-edge information.
Health Canada is also providing funding to the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse to enhance the national information service and the On-Line Fetal Alcohol Syndrome-Fetal Alcohol Effects training project for frontline workers in the Canadian prenatal nutritional program and the community action program for children.
Health Canada, working with key stakeholders, will be conducting a national survey of physicians to determine current knowledge, beliefs and attitudes with respect to fetal alcohol syndrome and diagnosis. The First Nations and Inuit Health Branch of Health Canada is working with the Indian and Inuit health committee of the Canadian Pediatric Society to identify diagnosis criteria. The information will be used as a baseline measure for policy and education initiatives geared toward health professionals.
Finally, Health Canada will be hosting a national forum in the fall of 2001 for the purpose of developing a national action plan for fetal alcohol syndrome and fetal alcohol effects involving the relevant sectors: education, corrections, social services and jurisdictions across Canada.
These initiatives are just a few of the many activities taking place across Canada to combat this syndrome, but they give a good picture. Although Health Canada recognizes that the majority of adult Canadians use alcohol in a way that is not harmful to their health, it is we who must combat this serious problem on behalf of Canadian children.
If this motion is passed by the government, as we hope it will be, the consideration by the House of Commons of the desire expressed in Motion M-155 will no doubt contribute to raising public awareness and go a long way to improve the situation.