Office of the Chief Medical Officer Date AR XXXXX
ADVICE TO MINISTER OF HEALTH FISH CONSUMPTION ADVISORIES FOR LAKE A, LAKE B AND LAKE C ISSUE: • Ministry of Health must publicly release fish consumption advisories for certain fish species in three lakes near Anytown that are used by local communities and members of the general public (Attachment #1). KEY BACKGROUND FACTS: • The Office of the Chief Medical Officer (the Office) issues food consumption advisories to reduce health risks to consumers of local food containing environmental contaminants. The advisories provide guidelines to the public on specific food consumption limits for vulnerable populations. An overview of the current food consumption advisory process is attached (Attachment #2) • On [early date], the Food Consumption Advisory Public Health Management Committee recommended the issuance of the fish consumption advisories. • The Office has been working with local communities nearest to these lakes on a plan to directly notify the residents of Anytown of these fish consumption advisories. • This approach has contributed to a delay in releasing these current advisories that provide important health information for the public. A two-step plan for the release of the advisories is presented for the Minister’s consideration and approval. The communications materials for this plan are attached (Attachments #3, 4 and 5). • The recent change of government further delayed the release. • In the first step, our current process will be followed where the information is passively made available to the public on the Environment and Parks (EP) website (hyperlink) and published in the Provincial Fishing Guide accessed by anglers when they purchase fishing licenses. • This allows for the quick release of these delayed advisories fulfilling the obligation of the Office in making this information available to the public without further delay. • However, the communities most impacted by the advisories may not access the EP website or the fishing guide, and the Office could be criticized for not proactively informing this community. • Therefore, step two is to directly notify local leaders after the information is posted on the EP website. • The benefit of this step is that the community most impacted by the advisories is directly informed and given an opportunity to ask questions and to help facilitate disseminating the information locally. This also sets the stage for MH’s plans to revise the food consumption process to engage more with affected communities. • There is a long history of environment and health concerns in this community. The Office could be criticized for singling out this community by using a different process for communicating this advisory, thereby increasing existing fears of eating local foods, which are often a healthier option than store-bought food. People may further
Contact: Joe Smith, Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health Phone #: 780-000-0000
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