(Return tabled) Question No. 845 Ms. Kirsty Duncan: With regard to children’s health and the environment: (a) what action has the government undertaken to integrate children’s environmental health into existing public health programs; (b) what specific action is the government undertaking to advocate for the consideration and assessment of hazardous environmental influences on children’s health and development, (i) in Canada, (ii) internationally; (c) what specific action is the government undertaking to raise the political profile of children’s environmental health, (i) locally, (ii) regionally, (iii) nationally; (d) in relation to its contaminated sites, (i) what specific action is the government undertaking to raise awareness about ch ...[+++]ildren’s environmental health, (ii) what are all contaminated sites where action has been taken to raise awareness, (iii) what was the risk; (iv) what was the action taken; (e) what are all government activities focused on children’s environmental health; (f) what are all existing government activities focused on prevention of environmental exposures aimed at protecting children's health; (g) what governmental action has been undertaken to prevent (i) pre-conception, prenatal, and childhood exposures, (ii) air, consumer products, food, soil/dust, water, and other physical environmental exposures, (iii) biological, chemical, and physical hazards; (h) how has the government taken children's vulnerabilities into account in developing environmental and health policies, regulations, and standards; (i) what targeted environmental and health policies, regulations, and standards have already been put in place to protect children's health, and what policies, regulations, and standards are currently under consideration; (j) what action is being undertaken by the government to measure the extent to which pregnant women and their babies are exposed to common environmental chemicals, and what health risks, if any, are associated with th ...

Bill S-11 builds on our government's already strong track record of investment and policy-making in Canada's food safety system, including delivering the biggest budgets ever for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency—budget 2011 in fact committed an additional $100 million over five years to the CFIA to improve food safety capacity—establishing guidelines for product of Canada/made in Canada labelling; funding the Canadian integrated food safety initiative to the tune of $47.16 million under Growing Forward to support the development of food safety and traceability systems by national organizations.

The national renewable energy action plans shall set out Member States’ national targets for the share of energy from renewable sources consumed in transport, electricity and heating and cooling in 2020, taking into account the effects of other policy measures relating to energy efficiency on final consumption of energy, and adequate measures to be taken to achieve those national overall targets, including cooperation between local, regional and national authorities, planned statistical transfers or joint projects, national policies to develop existing biomass resources and mobilise new biomass resources for ...[+++]different uses, and the measures to be taken to fulfil the requirements of Articles 13 to 19.

The parties concerned believe that the OMC is worthwhile and that it has a positive impact on policy making.

BLOOD SAFETY AND SELF-SUFFICIENCY - COUNCIL RESOLUTION "THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, RECALLING the Commission communication of 25 May 1993 on blood self- sufficiency in the European Community and its conclusions of 13 December 1993 on that communication; NOTES with interest the Commission communication of 21 December 1994 on blood safety and self-sufficiency in the European Community; REAFFIRMS the need to achieve self-sufficiency in blood and its derivatives in the Member States and in the Community, in particular through cooperation between Member States, in accordance with the principle of voluntary, unpaid blood donations; EMPHASIZES that the efforts to promote the quality and safety of blood collection help to prevent AIDS and ...[+++] other communicable diseases; RECALLS that Directive 89/381/EEC [1] which extends the scope of Directives 65/65/EEC and 75/319/EEC on proprietary medicinal products by laying down special provisions regarding medicines derived from human blood or plasma applies only to these products; AGREES on the need to define a strategy for reinforcing trust in the safety of the blood-transfusion chain and promoting self-sufficiency in the Community; ACCORDINGLY AGREES that, taking full account of the Council of Europe's discussions, the main activities to be undertaken could include: - the development of policies and agreed procedures in the donor-selection process among blood-collection establishments; - the implementation of efficient, validated and reliable screening tests; - the development and use of quality-assessment criteria and good practices regarding the collection, processing and transfusion of blood and blood products and patient follow-up procedures; - development of a haemovigilance system on the basis of existing networks for the collection of epidemiological data related to the blood- transfusion chain; - encouragement of health professionals to make optimal use of blood and blood products; - the establishment of basi ...

Towards a new Asia policy: the objectives Policy-makers in the Union and its member states should set their minds on the following overall objectives when formulating a fresh, proactive policy towards Asia: To improve policy coordination within the Union at national and European level To identify clear priorities in terms of countries and sectors, thereby avoiding the use of too many policy instruments on too many countries. To strengthen the Union's economic presence in Asia To raise the profile of Europe in Asia To promote peace and security by strengthening relations with ASEAN and other regional groupings. To encourage further Asian ...[+++]participation in multilateral organisations To pursue further market-opening and improvement in the investment climate To help integrate those Asian countries moving from state controls to market-oriented economies To contribute to sustainable development and poverty alleviation in the poorest parts of Asia Towards a new Asia policy: priorities for action Political dialogue The EU should explore the possibility of continuing or initiating dialogue in a wide range of areas, including: extending the coverage of the UN Conventional Arms Register, itself the result of a joint EU-Japan initiative, as well as extending the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty; reinforcing the efficiency of the safeguards system of the International Atomic Energy Agency; cooperating over the export of sensitive goods and technologies; urging its Asian partners to conclude a universal and verifiable treaty banning nuclear tests; strengthening the policy of encouraging the improvement of human rights.