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Edelira Longinotti
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The Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology, to which was referred Bill S-228, An Act to amend the Food and Drugs Act (prohibiting food and beverage marketing directed at children), met this day at 4:15 p.m. to continue its study of the bill.
We are here today to deal with Bill S-228, an Act to amend the Food and Drugs Act (prohibiting food and beverage marketing directed at children). Today we will hear from representatives of the advertising and broadcast industries. I'm going to introduce them and invite them to speak in the order that they are listed on the agenda.
Janet Feasby, Vice President, Standards, Advertising Standards Canada: Thank you Mr. Chairman, and thank you to the committee for inviting Ad Standards Canada to comment on Bill S-228. We understand the importance of addressing the serious problem of childhood obesity.
Ad Standards Canada is a not-for-profit, self-regulatory body. The public probably knows us best for our consumer complaints procedure. Last year we adjudicated more than 1,600 complaints. Our public face is also seen in our public service ads that focus on truth in advertising.
A large part of our work is reviewing and pre-clearing material that advertisers propose to run. Ad Standards Canada pre-clears advertising of five regulated categories. Our approval of an ad means consumers can be confident that the ad complies with government regulations and guidelines.
It's important to note that Ad Standards is not an advocacy body. We have more than 60 years' experience helping advertisers adhere to advertising laws and codes, covering products ranging from alcoholic beverages, to food to consumer drugs to toys.
Ad Standards also collaborates with the federal government, particularly with Health Canada, to develop sector- specific guidelines. Most recently, the Treasury Board of Canada asked Ad Standards to pre-review the government's advertising to ensure that it is not partisan. Our job with government is not to advocate but rather to collaborate with them in helping to ensure compliance with advertising laws and regulations.
Since the focus of this committee's hearing is about marketing to children, I'll outline the current regulatory and self- regulatory framework for advertising to children in Canada outside of Quebec. I'll also outline the role Ad Standards plays in advertising self-regulation. Finally, I'll highlight several challenges we see with Bill C-228 based on our extensive experience reviewing advertising.
Canada has a strict regulatory and self-regulatory framework dealing with the content of advertising. The broadcast code for advertising to children, referred to as the Children's Code, requires that all broadcast advertising directed to children under 12 conform to the strict provisions of the Children's Code. Commercials directed to children under 12 must first be pre-cleared by Ad Standards children's clearance committee before a broadcaster can run them. This condition is imposed by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission when it grants a broadcaster its licence.
In the case of non-broadcast advertising, including advertising on websites and "advergames,'' the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards contains special provisions regarding food advertising to children. Some of this code stipulations are that ads must clearly depict the role of food products with a balanced diet, and they must not portray excessive or unreasonable amounts of food.
These codes and guidelines deal with the content of advertising, not which products can or cannot be advertised to children. That's where the Canadian Children's Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative comes in. The children's advertising initiative was launched in 2007 by leading Canadian food and beverage advertisers to shift the emphasis in advertising directed to children under 12 to the promotion of healthier dietary choices. It does not and was never designed to affect advertising directed to teenagers or families.
Since 2007, the children's advertising initiative has been enhanced to expand its scope and add uniform nutrition criteria. The children's advertising initiative participants have reformulated and enhanced the nutritional profile of many products they advertise to children. For example, there has been a reduction in sugar in ready-to-eat cereals of between 17 to 60 per cent and no product advertised under the program has more than 200 calories per serving.
In January 2016, the participants implemented the new nutrition criteria, and approximately 30 per cent of products previously advertised to children under 12 has either been reformulated to meet the new criteria or are no longer being advertised to children.
Regarding Bill S-228, it provides that an ad may be considered directed primarily at children despite the fact that the ad is carried in a publication or broadcast intended for both children and persons 13 years of age and older. We understand that Senator Greene Raine is considering amending her bill to increase the threshold age from 13 to 16 or 17. As well, Health Canada is proposing an age threshold of under 17 in its consultations.
With an age threshold of 16 or 17, it would be extremely difficult to determine whether a food ad is directed primarily at children. If criteria are set based on the type of program and time of day, we know children and teenagers watch much of the same entertainment and sports programming in prime time viewing hours as adults do. If food advertising on those programs is considered to be primarily directed at children because some percentage of children and teens watch them, then virtually all prime time viewing would become a no-go zone for food advertising.
Moving on to non-broadcast advertising, such as on the Internet, the committee has heard that children are being bombarded by unhealthy food and beverage advertising on websites, particularly by companies participating in the children's advertising initiative. This is a finding in the Heart and Stroke Foundation's 2017 Report on the Health of Canadians. However, this finding does not align with ad standards information regarding advertising to children by the participants on Canadian websites.
For instance, the report specifically mentioned two products as being among the most frequently advertised products on popular children's websites. However, as found in ad standards compliance audits, the companies have not placed child-directed advertising for these products in any Canadian medium, including children's websites. In fact, one of the products is not even available for sale in Canada.
In summary, here are two points. First, we recommend that the committee look carefully over all the evidence presented and research cited; and, second, that the committee consider the complexity of the issue and the bill's potential to result in unintended consequences that extend beyond banning advertising to children.
Now, from Corus Entertainment Inc., we welcome Sylvie Courtemanche, Vice President and Associate General Counsel, Government and Public Relations and Compliance; and Simone Sammut, Senior Manager, Internal Programming, Policy & Government Relations, Law Department.
Sylvie Courtemanche, Vice President and Associate General Counsel, Government and Public Relations and Compliance, Corus Entertainment Inc.: Thank you to the committee for an opportunity to discuss an issue that we take to heart at our company: the health and well-being of Canadian children.
Simone Sammut, Senior Manager, Internal Programming, Policy & Government Relations, Law Department, Corus Entertainment Inc.: We are enormously proud of our success in the kids' market, but we know that the media landscape is changing. The fact is that we have reached an inflection point.
According to recent viewing data, Netflix now draws a kids 2 to 11 audience share that is larger in prime time than Treehouse, Disney Channel and YTV combined. Corus is working hard to adapt to this new reality, but there is no doubt that significant challenges lie ahead.
Bill S-228 addresses an important public policy imperative. Childhood obesity is a complex issue that Corus takes very seriously. In her June 1 testimony, Senator Greene Raine expressed her support for media campaigns that focus on healthy food and eating habits. That is exactly what Corus does. Since 2004, we have devoted over $15 million worth of advertising time to healthy, active living initiatives for kids and families.
We recently launched the Kid Food Nation initiative in partnership with the Public Health Agency of Canada and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada. This campaign aims to help kids and parents develop practical knowledge related to planning, preparing and cooking healthy meals and snacks.
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