Draft regulations for a federal ban on food ads targeting children have been deferred once again, sparking concerns among advertisers about potential financial losses. Blacklock's Reporter says advertisers warn that the proposed ban could cost the industry nearly a billion dollars a year.“Industry is critical of the government advancing regulations,” noted a June 19 briefing by the Department of Health. Although draft regulations were promised for this past spring, none have been introduced.In a 2015 Ministerial Mandate letter, the cabinet promised "new restrictions on the commercial marketing of unhealthy foods and beverages to children similar to those now in place in Québec." Québec's 1980 Consumer Protection Act, which prohibits TV marketing of all products to pre-teen viewers, was upheld by the Supreme Court in 1989.Advertisers, in a 2019 petition to the health department, stated that a ban would result in $956 million in lost TV and internet advertising revenue. "Those revenues, nearly $1 billion, would be lost by Canadian media operations," wrote the Association of Canadian Advertisers. "Upstream from that would be additional damage to the entire advertising supply chain."The association described the potential ban as "an enormous blow" that would significantly impact TV and internet advertising by food manufacturers and restaurant chains. "Fully 52% of the industry’s ability to reach adults with television advertising, and 74% of the industry’s ability to reach adults with digital advertising, would go away if the proposal were to become law," the Association stated.On October 25, the Commons passed Bill C-252, An Act To Amend The Food And Drugs Act, which would grant the cabinet authority to restrict advertising of any food with "more than prescribed levels of sugar, saturated fats or sodium" to children under 13. Prescribed levels were not defined in the bill, which is currently pending in the Senate social affairs committee.The briefing note, Restrictions On Food Advertising To Children, did not set a deadline for regulation but indicated that the cabinet remains committed to fulfilling its 2015 pledge. "Our government supports restrictions on food advertising to children to protect them from the risks of chronic diseases caused by an unhealthy diet," the note stated."Almost one in three children in Canada, including two in three Indigenous children, lives with overweight or obesity," the note continued. "There is an increasingly urgent public health concern associated with excess weight because children who are overweight or obese are at an increased risk of developing chronic conditions.""Children are particularly vulnerable to advertising," the note added. "Research in this area suggests children under 8 years of age do not possess the cognitive abilities to understand the purpose of advertising."The department estimated that a typical schoolchild in Canada is exposed to 33 food ads per week. According to a 2023 Statistics Canada study, The Local Restaurant Environment In Relation to Eating Out And Sugar Drink Intake Among Canadian Children And Youth, 40% of teenagers eat take-out food at least twice a week.
