I recently received the December 22 "Parliamentary Report" from our Markham
MP (Liberal member John McCallum). Most of it was about health, with
specific mention of health promotion. Among the statements: "Two kinds of
preventive action are critical - those designed to encourage people to adopt
healthier lifestyles, and those targeted at specific risks and
illnesses.....The Liberal government knows that health promotion and
prevention are crucial to the future of our health care system and the
overall health of our population". Much of the rest of the newsletter is
self-congratulation by Liberals on what they have done about health
promotion.

Since I understand the text for many Liberal MPs' parliamentary reports are
centrally generated, then used by a number of MPs, those of us interested in
health promotion and/or the determinants of health might want to take
respond to our MP if we receive similar Parliamentary reports. People
involved in health promotion and/or the determinants of health sometimes
make the valid complaint that we aren't on the political radar screen. We
have an opportunity here to let our MPs know we exist, and why we exist.
Some of us may want to congratulate our MP for mentioning health promotion.
Others may want to ask their MP to carry the philosophy further, into the
area of determinants of health.

Even if you didn't get a similar Parliamentary report from your MP but you
want to let her/him know what you think, contact information on MPs can be
found through the Parliament of Canada web site at
http://www.parl.gc.ca/common/SenatorsMembers_House.asp?Language=E&Sect=hoccu
r. All of them have an e-mail address to which we the citizens can send our
letters, as well as snail mail addresses.

What follows is the message I sent to John McCallum:
..................

John -

I read with pleasure and interest your Parliamentary Report of December 22
2002.

Congratulations on your recognition of the importance of health promotion. I
am sure that the many thousands who labour unrecognized in the field of
health promotion on a daily basis will also applaud your commitment to
health promotion. May I suggest, however, that you are in unique position of
influence to carry the issue even further, into the realm of the
determinants of health. As you have said in the past, "it is up to those
with some influence today to help chart the course for tomorrow."

You are one of those with "some influence". As someone who has been a leader
within Canada's financial services industry, in the Government of Canada and
in the civic and academic sectors, you are undoubtedly sensitive to the
extent to which both private sector, civic sector and public sector policies
that seem a world away from health can profoundly affect the health of
Canadians. One can argue, for instance, that income and social inequities
are profound determinants of health, just as security, our stock of social
capital, and the state of the environment are among the determinants.

If there is anything you can do to spearhead or promote the idea of publicly
available social/economic audits of newly proposed government policies -
initiatives that actually build citizen participation into the audits - you
would do a great service not only to the people of Markham, but to all
Canadians.

regards
John Butler
Markham Ontario

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