January 2011

Dear colleagues,

Welcome to the first edition of “Connecting the Docs” the advocacy newsletter of the Canadian Paediatric Society. 

Advocacy is central to the mission of the CPS. We want to improve the health of Canada’s kids, and we need your help. Through this newsletter we will keep you up-to-date on some of our advocacy priorities and ask for your assistance to move the issues forward. We will highlight some current issues of national and local importance and give you tools and resources to be more active and effective advocates yourselves.

The CPS is seen as one of the leading child and youth advocacy organizations in the country – a position we wouldn’t be in without all of you. We would love your feedback – if you want to share your story with us or comment on any advocacy issues, please send us an e-mail.

Andrew Lynk, MD
Chair, Action Committee for Children and Teens (ACCT)

The Nutrition and Gastroenterology Committee recently released a statement on human milk banking. The statement recommends that when a mother’s own milk is not available, pasteurized human donor breast milk should be made available to hospitalized newborns. The CPS has written to ministers of health to advocate for funding to establish human milk banks and to promote breastfeeding on a larger scale. Feel free to use the letter as a guide if you would like to advocate on the subject in your province. 

Based on the recommendation in the CPS statement Youth and Firearms in Canada and strong evidence crediting the long-gun registry with the 10-year decline in adolescent deaths by rifles and shot-guns, the CPS is strongly in favour of maintaining the long-gun registry. Katherine Austin Leonard presented on behalf of the CPS to the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security and we have written to the leaders of the national parties and the chief of police. While the registry survived the September 22 vote, it is likely to become an election issue. If you agree that the registry can protect children and youth, contact your local MP.   

The CPS Infectious Diseases and Immunization Committee recently released a statement called Recommendations for the use of rotavirus vaccines in infants. It advises that the rotavirus vaccine be administered to all Canadian babies and that it be publicly funded. The CPS believes that all Canadian children and youth should have publicly-funded access to all vaccines recommended by the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) and the CPS.

Childhood obesity rates have been a popular topic in the media recently. An original article published in the September issue of Paediatrics & Child Health claimed that Canadian health care providers do not have the tools they need to deal with the paediatric obesity epidemic. Statistics Canada reports that 17% of children in Canada are overweight! If you would like to advocate for healthy active living, see the resource on the CPS website which include a presentation ready to use with community leaders, parents, and other health care professionals. 

The 2009 edition of the status report was released last December. It assesses public policy progress in four major areas: disease prevention, health promotion, injury prevention, and best interests of children and youth.

Every six months the CPS reviews the report and updates new legislation or programs in the specific areas identified. However, a government’s status will not change until the next full publication of the report. The updates can be found by clicking on the yellow notes located on the full pdf version of the report.

It has been widely circulated to government officials at the federal and provincial/territorial levels but we need organizations and individuals to join with us to call governments to account! Have you used or do you plan to use the report? If so, we’d love to hear about your experience. Tips on how to use this report as an advocacy tool can be found on our website.

Dr. Dawn Hartfield, an Associate Professor and Director of the Division of Pediatric Hospital Medicine at the University of Alberta took a stand on the gun registry. Utilizing the information presented by Dr. Katherine Austin and the CPS to the Public Safety Committee of the House of Commons, Dr. Hartfield rallied a group of 15 paediatricians in her neighbourhood to sign a letter to their MP (Linda Duncan). This letter outlined the importance of the long gun registry and the role it can play in protecting children and youth. While it is impossible to know what influenced her final decision, Linda Duncan was one of the very few MPs in the west to support the registry.

Dr. Ken Henderson, Co-Clinical Chief at the Janeway Hospital and Past President of the CPS, also advocated the benefits of the long-gun registry. He visited with MP Jack Harris at his constituency office in St. John’s. Mr. Harris asked for copies of the CPS materials that had been circulated to the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security and brought them forward to the NDP caucus meeting. 

For more information on these and any advocacy issues, please visit the Advocacy Resource Centre on our website. 

Contact us.

Unsubscribe from this newsletter.