Mr. Speaker, many Manitobans want the government to take the initiative in providing preventive health care measures.
Recently I met with Mark McDonald and Ethel Hook, representatives of the Alliance for the Prevention of Chronic Disease. They presented an initiative outlining a five year pilot project which is built on a low cost, effective, community led approach that can be a model for preventive health care across the country.
The initiative will facilitate and support activities promoting physical activity, healthy nutrition and weight, and freedom from tobacco at the community level. A well-developed evaluation mechanism will demonstrate the effect of these activities, both for the individuals and communities involved in them.
Manitobans can no longer disregard the importance of primary prevention. Health care systems can no longer remain fixated on acute care.
I call on the members of the House to actively take steps to implement community based preventive health care, effective and broad based--