This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 OTTAWA 000587 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT EB/DCT, WHA/CAN 
 
DEPARTMENT PASS USTR (CHANDLER) 
 
USDA/FAS/OSEC (Renn) 
USDA/FAS/OA (Terpstra) 
USDA/FAS/ITP/OFSTS (Sheikh and S. Reid) 
USDA/FAS/CMP (F. Lee) 
 
USDOC for 4320/ITA/MAC/WH/ONAFTA/WORD 
 
HHS FOR FDA/International Affairs (KWAIN) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ETRD EAGR TBIO CA ETRD EAGR TBIO CA NDP
SUBJECT: Proposed law would ban trans-fats in Canada 
 
Ref  (A) 2004 Ottawa 03431 
     (B) 2005 Ottawa 00418 
 
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Summary 
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¶1. A law proposed by Canada's social democratic party, the 
NDP, would amend Canada's Food and Drug Act to prohibit 
content of more than 2 grams of trans-fatty acids per 100 
grams of oil or fat in foodstuffs.  This proposed law, would 
take Canada down the same path as Denmark, which in March 
2003, issued new regulations limiting the amount of trans 
fat in processed foods.  Currently manufacturers are able to 
treat Canada and the United States as essentially a single 
extended market. Canadian imposition of a ban on Trans-fatty 
acids in foods would have a detrimental effect on American 
industry; these proposed new rules would introduce a 
regulatory mismatch and impose costly measures on 
manufacturers to meet different formulation requirements for 
foods in Canada and in the United States.  The bill is 
moving slowly so far, but underscores the need to watch food 
regulatory developments closely, and reinforces Post's 
suggestion that we press for regulatory synchronization 
between the two countries (ref A). Post intends to ensure 
this piece of legislation is noted and discussed at the next 
meeting of the Consultative Committee on Agriculture. End 
summary. 
 
¶2. The bill, C-220 "An Act to Amend the Food and Drugs Act 
(trans fatty acids)" was introduced in the House of Commons 
on October 18, 2004 as a "Public Members Private Bill". 
That is, a New Democratic Party (NDP) member of the House of 
Commons introduced the bill and it does not have Liberal 
government support.  That being said, in the current 
minority parliament the NDP does have considerable sway over 
the Liberal government of Paul Martin.  The NDP leader, Jack 
Layton, is urging Canada to follow the lead of Denmark. Said 
Layton, "People expect us to have legislation to protect 
their health and if we'd been informed that trans fats are 
dangerous to your health, we'd be irresponsible if we didn't 
take some action." 
¶3. The Conservative Party, which is the official opposition 
and has the second greatest number of seats in the House of 
Commons after the governing Liberal party supports the Trans 
fatty acid ban.  Steven Fletcher, the Conservative Health 
critic, is a passionate and high profile advocate for this 
bill, which would result in the effective elimination of 
processed trans fats from food products in Canada. 
¶4. In November 2004, in response to the calls for a 
prohibition from the NDP and Conservative parties, Health 
Minister Ujjal Dosanjh announced that Health Canada, in 
conjunction with the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, 
would "work through a multi-stakeholder task force to 
develop recommendations and strategies for reducing trans 
fats in Canadian foods to the lowest levels possible."  The 
task force, being developed with the support and 
participation of the food processing and food service 
industries, will include representatives from health 
associations, government, academia, and industry. 
¶5. Recommendations regarding public education, labelling, 
and any possible immediate opportunities for the food 
service and food processing industry to reduce trans fats 
are expected by late Spring 2005.  By autumn 2005 the task 
force is expected to provide the Minister with 
recommendations for both an appropriate regulatory framework 
and for the introduction and widespread use of  alternatives 
to achieve the objective of limiting trans fat content in 
foods sold in Canada to the lowest levels possible. 
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Comment 
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¶6. The formation of this "trans fat task force" has taken 
some of the wind out of the sails of Bill C-220 (which has 
yet to receive its second reading and debate in the House of 
Commons).  Moreover, the consultative approach is supported 
by recommendations from the External Advisory Committee on 
Smart Regulations, which call for the formation of such 
groups to help lead regulatory reform.  Indeed officials of 
the GoC Smart Regulation secretariat (ref B) commented to us 
that Bill C-220 is a prime example of exactly the wrong 
approach to take on regulation. Nevertheless, this piece of 
proposed legislation underscores the need for vigilance on 
the food regulatory front; and reinforces our recent 
suggestion to push for greater regulatory synchronization 
between Canada and the United States (ref A).  Post intends 
to ensure this piece of legislation is noted and discussed 
at the next meeting of the Consultative Committee on 
Agriculture. 
 
Cellucci