Canadian Politicians Want To Crack Down On Happy Meals

Growing up, I remember the rush I got watching commercials for McDonald’s, Gushers, and more than anything else, SunnyD. The latter, for the uninitiated, is an orange-juice knockoff that tastes like it’s made of oil, sugar, and food colouring. But the marketing really sucked me in.

Soon Canadian kids may never know the joy of singing along to the Lucky Charms jingle (“they’re magically delicious”). Not if a new bill aimed at banning food and beverage marketing targeted at children passes into law.

The Child Health Protection Act, an amendment to Canada’s Food and Drugs Act, stipulates “no person shall advertise unhealthy food in a manner that is directed primarily at children.” Children is defined as people aged 17 and under.

The bill, put forth by Conservative Senator (and former Olympian) Nancy Greene Raine and backed by Liberal MP Doug Eyolfson, was given second reading in the House of Commons this week. It says the increase in Canada’s childhood obesity rates, which have tripled in the last three decades, is a national concern.

According to the bill, “the protection of vulnerable children from the manipulative influence of marketing of food and beverages is predicated on a pressing and substantial concern and calls for a federal legislative response.”

The maximum penalties for disobeying the proposed rules would be a fine of $50,000 or six months in jail for a summary conviction or a fine of $250,000 or three years in jail for an indictable offence.

“Everyone understands how impressionable children are,” said Greene Raine on her website. According to the National Post, she also said “When you have servers bending down to speak to a seven-year-old and say ‘I have a special card for you and when you get 10 punches you get a toy,’ that’s not right. It’s an enticement for the child to put pressure on the parent.”

Obviously childhood obesity poses many health risks, including diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease. But why is it in Canada our first instinct is to ban everything?

It doesn’t take a nutritionist to realize that things like Happy Meals aren’t healthy, so imposing a full on ban of advertising is could be construed as patronizing to parents, if you think about it. On the other hand, I don’t have kids so I don’t know what it's like to deal with a Happy Meal-related meltdown.

But at the end of the day, if a parent wants to feed their kids fast food all the time, no advertising ban is going to change that.

Follow Manisha Krishnan on Twitter.