September 17, 2007 – The government of Quebec unveiled an action plan to ensure that schools – public and private – offer better nutrition and more physical activities to students. The objective: to improve their state of health and thus promote academic success.
The first measures of this framework policy1 will be noticeable from January 2008: from kindergarten to high school, fries, soft drinks and products coated with breadcrumbs will be excluded from foods served to students or offered in automated vending machines.
The framework policy, developed by the Ministry of Education, Recreation and Sport and entitled For a healthy shift in schools, also provides for around 40 other measures.2.
The first bodies questioned are schools and school boards. They will first have to take stock of their respective situation. Then, they will have to establish local action plans to respond specifically to the clienteles they serve.
“We are not starting from scratch,” said Richard Leblanc, coordinator of complementary services at the Ministry of Education. Already, two-thirds of French-language school boards have a local policy or are in the process of having one. “
Minister Michelle Courchesne does not, however, plan to apply coercive measures for schools that do not adjust to the new framework policy. “There will be no food gendarmerie, but we are asking for annual reviews and, where there will be difficulties, we will see what help we can give,” she said.
In 2009, an evaluation process will be put in place. Then, in 2011, the effects of the plan should be measured in a more structured way.
Changing things at school … and at home
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From reality to fiction |
To implement this policy, the government will pay schools an additional $ 11 million annually. Three million will be earmarked for sports activities and facilities, and eight million for food, of which 6.5 million will be used to replace equipment in food facilities in schools. There will be 1.5 million left for schools that will need the services of experts, nutritionists, for example.
The framework policy also appeals to parents who are primarily responsible for feeding their child, it is indicated. “Eighty percent of meals eaten in high schools come from home,” said Richard Leblanc.
Parents will receive information sheets that should help them whip up healthier meals and snacks for their children. There will also be an educational component to encourage young people to use fast food restaurants and foods of low nutritional value as little as possible.
The municipalities were also challenged by Prime Minister Jean Charest himself: “The ball is also in the court of municipalities which have an important role to play, among other things to improve the food supply in indoor rinks and other facilities. sports, ”he insisted.
In addition, Jean Charest invites municipal authorities to review their zoning by-laws, in order to avoid the construction of new fast-food restaurants near schools. However, there is no question of moving the existing establishments.
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A damper The Professional Order of Dietitians of Quebec (OPDQ) says it welcomes the new policy “very favorably”. But he puts a damper on the thinness of the envelope of $ 1.5 million, intended for expert services. “With 2,300 schools in Quebec, each will receive an average of $ 700 CAD annually. It seems insufficient to us to modify eating habits in the long term. In addition, we do not know if these resources will continue over time, ”says the spokesperson for the OPDQ in this matter, nutritionist Nathalie Jobin. |
More lively schoolyards
With the three million intended for sports activities and facilities, the government wants to get schoolchildren moving more, beyond the physical activity classes already scheduled. This money could be used, for example, to set up new play areas and purchase safe equipment for schoolyards.
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Martin LaSalle – PasseportSanté.net
1. Towards a healthy shift at school, Framework policy for healthy eating and a physically active lifestyle, Ministry of Education (MELS), Recreation and Sport, Government of Quebec, September 2007. The document is accessible at www.mels.gouv.qc.ca. [consulté le 14 septembre 2007].
2. The framework policy developed by the MELS is part of the government action plan to promote healthy lifestyles and prevent weight-related problems 2006-2012, Investing for the future. This plan benefits from an envelope half-funded by the Lucie and André Chagnon Foundation.
3. Virginia is a daily program broadcast on Radio-Canada television, the action of which takes place mainly in a high school.
