One of many excellent presentations by students at
Carihi Secondary School, Campbell River, B.C.
2nd Session, 38th Parliament – November 29, 2006
< Introduction – Table of Contents – Childhood Overweight and Obesity in British Columbia >
One of many excellent presentations by students at
Carihi Secondary School, Campbell River, B.C.
In carrying out its mandate, the Committee conducted eight public hearings from late April to early June listening to physicians, academics, health and wellness practitioners, representatives from various ministries, officials from the Office of the Provincial Health Officer, and experts in the field of social marketing. On May 4, 2006, then deputy health minister, Dr. Penny Ballem, provided the Committee with an update on the Ministry of Health’s response to the Select Standing Committee on Health’s 2004 report, The Path to Health and Wellness: Making British Columbians Healthier by 2010. The Committee received an additional update on the status of the Committee’s 2004 report from the new deputy minister of health, Gordon Macatee, on November 15, 2006. A summary of the information prepared by the Ministry of Health is provided in Appendix A.
The Committee also heard from officials representing associations such as the Concerned Children’s Advertisers, Food and Consumer Products of Canada, Refreshments Canada, and the Canadian Food and Restaurant Association.
A student panel speaks to the Committee at North Peace Secondary School, Fort St. John, B.C.
For the first time in the history of a parliamentary committee in British Columbia, the Health Committee made special efforts to receive input and submissions from British Columbia’s children and youth. The Committee felt that it was important to hear from those who would be directly impacted by any policy decisions recommended by the Committee — kids between the ages of five and 18.
“Everyone had a different opinion on youth and health, but it all linked back to one conclusion — that we’re not all very healthy.” N. Kupchanko, |
The Committee used five distinct methods of advertising to reach B.C.’s children and youth. These included the creation of a youth-friendly website, myhealthyspace.ca; an interactive web log, or blog featuring commentary from various committee members on a variety of subjects pertaining to childhood obesity; and a confidential survey in which children and their parents could provide responses to a series of questions. To reach out to younger students, the Committee also sponsored a drawing contest for elementary school children, with the winning submissions appearing in this report. Most importantly, the Committee held public hearings to hear directly from B.C.’s youth.
The Committee’s objectives in conducting youth-focused consultations were threefold. First, committee members felt that it was imperative to hear directly from youth on their opinions on the causes of — and solutions to — childhood obesity. It was the Committee’s opinion that legislators should engage directly with kids on issues that affected them — their health, their ability to participate in physical activity, and, increasingly, their own wallets and pocketbooks — to enhance the likelihood of successful buy-in to any resulting policy changes. We feel that the time spent in consultation with students has given us a better understanding of what may or may not work in terms of combatting childhood obesity.
Second, the Committee sensed a need to inform youth about the issues relating to childhood obesity. In developing myhealthyspace.ca, the Committee sought to raise awareness of childhood obesity’s causes and to provide a platform for youth to offer their solutions to this serious health problem.
Third, in reaching out to students, the Committee provided students a glimpse into the workings of parliamentary committees and elected officials. In many cases, it was the students’ first experience with speaking “on the record” in a submission to parliamentarians. Members were very impressed by the poise, creativity and confidence shown by the student presenters. It is the Committee’s hope that these students will continue to be involved in public issues as a result of this experience.
In an effort to reach out to B.C.’s kids, the Committee designed an interactive website under the banner myhealthyspace.ca. The Committee adopted a consultation medium familiar to B.C.’s youth: the Internet. Hosted on the Legislative Assembly’s own server, myhealthyspace.ca was designed to encourage kids to participate in the public consultation process without having to face the daunting task of preparing a formal written or oral submission. In addition, the website provided easy-to-read reviews of the major issues surrounding childhood obesity in British Columbia. Over the course of the Committee’s public consultation process (September 11 to October 31, 2006), myhealthyspace.ca received close to 2,400 unique visits from Canada, United States, Australia, Ireland, Sweden, Switzerland and Belgium.
Unlike other parliamentary committees’ websites, myhealthyspace.ca was styled in a youthful, playful manner. The website featured an amusing video cartoon asking B.C.’s youth to participate in the process; an interactive quiz designed to get kids thinking about healthy eating and exercise; and a confidential survey that permitted B.C.’s youth to provide formal feedback on what the provincial government and other organizations can do to help B.C.’s kids choose both healthier food options and participate in daily physical activity. In addition, the website featured details on the Committee’s drawing contest for younger students, as well as a referral device allowing users to share the website with their friends.
Another component of the Health Committee’s website was a blog promoting dialogue between the Committee and the youth of British Columbia. Over the course of two months, the “Big Guy” — committee chair Ralph Sultan, MLA — and guest “Big Guys and Gals” — committee members from both sides of the House — posted brief synopses of issues heard by the Committee during our expert witness hearings. Students were encouraged to think about the topics listed and provide anonymous comments to the blog. In total, “the Big Guy and guests” posted 25 different submissions on aspects of childhood obesity and the consultation process, with hundreds of comments received.
In conjunction with the youth consultation process, the Committee also designed a survey asking the youth of British Columbia’s opinions on a variety of topics pertaining to healthy eating and physical activity. The ten questions asked respondents to provide information on what their schools, parents, governments, and food and beverage companies can do to encourage a healthier lifestyle in youth. In total, the Committee received 232 responses to its on-line survey.
To reach younger British Columbians (kindergarten to grade seven), the Committee also commissioned a drawing contest aimed at encouraging B.C.’s kids to think about childhood obesity. Our grand prize winner, Daniel Minney of Delta, has his artistic submission included as this report’s cover. Other artistic submissions received are highlighted throughout the report.
In total, we received close to 400 artistic submissions from students, including submissions from smaller communities (Atlin, D’Arcy, Procter, and Summerland), and larger cities (Vancouver, Victoria, Richmond, and Cranbrook). The Committee would like to thank the teachers and parents who encouraged children to take part in this process.
Another successful innovation launched by the Committee was to hold public hearings in B.C.’s secondary schools.
We launched our youth consultation process at Hollyburn Elementary School in West Vancouver, followed by a visit to Reynolds Senior Secondary in Saanich — the first high school in Greater Victoria to include healthier food selections in its vending machines. On October 17 and 18, 2006, the Committee held public hearings at Sir Charles Tupper (Vancouver), Carihi (Campbell River), North Peace (Fort St. John) and Williams Lake secondary schools — all of them youth-oriented public hearings.
At each school, the Committee listened as students made presentations on topics such as physical fitness in schools, vending machine policies, the root causes of physical inactivity at home, and peer and societal pressures. Many of the presenters also prepared multi-media presentations, ranging from detailed posters, survey results on healthy lifestyles, PowerPoint presentations as well as a documentary-style video. After the student presentations, the Members engaged both the presenters and the audience in a question and answer period on various topics.
In every school, committee members were impressed by the quality of presentations made by all of the students. We would again like to thank all students, teachers and principals for the time and effort they put into the student presentations.
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© 2006 Legislative Assembly of British Columbia