LEARNING IN ONTARIO
Gerard Kennedy, Minister of Education Statement to the Legislative Assembly
Making Ontario schools healthier places to learn
October 20, 2004
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about the government's efforts to help make schools healthier places for students to learn. Our goal is to help develop the intellectual, emotional and physical potential of our children and young adults so they become the best contributing citizens they can be. To this end, every student should enjoy regular physical activity, appreciate a healthy lifestyle and have access to a full range of extracurricular activities.
Schools should be healthy environments where children get the right instruction, can follow the right example and benefit from the right experience. Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, the previous government allowed things to slide to the point where schools are relying on vending machines filled with junk food as a source of financial assistance.
We have taken a different approach. We have begun to rebuild our publicly funded education system, investing $1.1 billion since coming to office, including an $854-million increase this year alone.
Mr. Speaker, I believe we have an obligation to ensure that we are giving our students the best possible opportunity to succeed. Promoting good nutrition and healthy food choices plays an important role in meeting this obligation. This is why I am pleased to announce a new junk food policy to help create healthier learning environments for Ontario's students.
Current research on children and nutrition provided by the Dietitians of Canada presents a staggering picture. For example, serving sizes of carbonated beverages have increased by over 300 per cent since the 1950s. Milk consumption is almost 30 per cent lower in schools that also sell soft drinks. Approximately 27 per cent of boys and 23 per cent of girls in Grades 6 and 8 consume candy and chocolate bars daily.
In fact, by the time children reach the "tween" years of 9 to 12, many have lifestyle habits that could put them in the fast lane for developing cardiovascular disease as early as their 30s.
Not surprisingly, research also indicates that well-nourished children are more likely to be better prepared to learn. Likewise, inadequate nutrition can have a detrimental effect on children's ability to learn, as well as on their physical growth and development.
To provide boards with clear direction on what food items would be considered acceptable under this new policy, we asked the Dietitians of Canada, a credible voice on the subject of nutrition, to develop guidelines based on their extensive work and research. Today, we are providing these guidelines to all school boards. These guidelines include examples of healthy snack and beverage choices, including milk, vegetable juice and yogurt.
Mr. Speaker, to make all Ontario elementary schools healthier, this morning I directed all school boards to follow these guidelines and remove unhealthy food and drinks from all elementary school vending machines as soon as possible. We believe that it is in the best interest of all students that school boards support this initiative.
Under our new junk food policy, boards need to ensure that all schools with students from kindergarten to Grade 8 restrict the sale of food and beverage items in vending machines to healthy and nutritious choices. We firmly believe that this is one small way that Ontario's publicly funded education system can and must deliver excellence to all students. Our schools and the broader school community, including parents, can play a very influential role in heightening our young people's awareness of the importance of good nutrition. We are counting on their support to help children learn early in their development the importance of smart choices and a healthy lifestyle.
This initiative represents another small step in an overall healthier schools strategy. We have already made progress by providing funding to school boards to open up schools to community groups for after hours use to help kids stay active. This past July, I joined my colleague Jim Bradley, Minister of Tourism and Recreation, to announce a community use of schools initiative. By ensuring school space is affordable and accessible to the communities that schools serve, the government is supporting healthy, active lifestyles, encouraging citizen engagement in community activities and fostering safe and vital communities.
Our vision is to have every school in Ontario recognized as a centre for community activity. Already, boards have begun to sign on to the voluntary agreement, providing increased opportunities for students and other members of the community to stay active. Next steps will include increasing children's minimum daily physical activity to 20 minutes by next fall.
Mr. Speaker, some of our school boards already set an excellent example by offering healthy alternatives to junk food in their vending machines. We applaud their efforts to put the health and well-being of their students first. We are now asking all boards and schools across Ontario do the same.
Thank you.
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