In anticipation of the provincial election on June 12, 2014, CMHA Ontario recently participated in a special online discussion on improving Ontario’s health. Moderated by Health Nexus and produced in partnership with Health Promotion Ontario and the Ontario Chronic Disease Prevention Alliance (OCDPA), the discussion explored the various ways that each political party can make Ontario a healthy society. The online twitter chat invited participants to share ideas on how to make Ontario the healthiest province by using the hashtag #healthpromochat. Participants included representatives from health organizations, such as the Ontario Women’s Health Network and the Ontario Lung Association, as well as concerned members of the public from across the province.
Participants agreed for the need of a Health in all Policies approach within government, as well as policies to reduce inequities and increase accessibility for service users.
The discussion was part of the OCDPA’s Healthiest Province campaign, which aims to make Ontario the healthiest province through a collaborative approach across sectors and stakeholders to increase access to healthy choices.
In order for Ontario to be the healthiest province in Canada, the OCDPA asks all political parties to:
- Commit to accelerate and deepen health promotion efforts.
- Embed a health impact filter across all government initiatives.
- Focus on reducing health inequities.
CMHA Ontario is a core partner of the OCDPA and is in full support of the Healthiest Province campaign.
To read the complete recap of the discussion, visit Health Nexus’ storify collection of the chat. Learn more about the Healthiest Province campaign on the OCDPA website.