Health committee  Here I thought I was getting a little long, but I can go on for quite a bit longer if you'd like.

Health committee  Okay. So there are parameters around this so you won't get cut off. I am chairing, as I mentioned, the FPT task group that's been created to recommend concrete actions to increase access and availability of nutritious foods, with the focus on remote and northern areas of Canada.

Health committee  Thank you, Madam Chair. I am pleased to be here today with my colleagues. Both the Food Directorate and the Office of Nutrition Policy and Promotion are situated within the Health Products and Food Branch of Health Canada, and we work closely to support and promote the nutritional health and well-being of Canadians.

Health committee  The work currently under way in our office to provide health professionals both with the latest nutrition advice related to prenatal nutrition and infant-feeding guidelines are examples of how our office uses best practices to support and promote healthy eating through the lifespan of Canadians.

Health committee  Let me speak briefly about the labelling side of things. We certainly know that Canadians have taken to this new tool, are at least using it, but as I think has been pointed out, perhaps we're not always very clear about exactly how to use it and how to understand it. Certainly our group carried out quite a large education campaign a year and a half ago.

Health committee  Could I just--

Health committee  Yes, what I was going to say is that we certainly are taking very much a rigid project management approach now and we do hope we will have a draft of the plan by December for discussion at our next meeting on December 3 and 4.

Health committee  Very good. Let me first of all address where we are with the plan. We do have these three subcommittees, as I've mentioned, that are working very hard to develop the three components of what will be the strategic plan, one of which, as you pointed out, has to do with the need to have a very strong education and public awareness campaign.

Health committee  First of all, let me just say with respect to the posting of the meetings, they are all on our website as well. All of the meetings have been posted here, and we're just working on finalizing the minutes from the last meeting, which just happened two weeks ago. With respect to the working group, I think you mentioned, between 2007 and 2008, there's no record because what happened in 2007 was the announcement by the minister.

Health committee  Okay. He's the starter here.

Health committee  Thank you for the opportunity to address the committee today. I'm sorry that there hasn't been quite enough time to translate fully all of our opening remarks for today's meeting. They are currently in translation and will be provided to the clerk by the end of this week. In October 2007, the Minister of Health announced that the Government of Canada would establish an expert working group.