Fifty members of the Healthy Canada by Design CLASP Partnership descended on Winnipeg on November 21st and 22nd to share information on their respective projects and discuss the future of the Partnership. 

The meeting included eight Medical Officers of Health, public health professionals from 15 health authorities in 10 different provinces, planners, transportation engineers, academics and non-governmental organizations, as well as staff from the Heart and Stoke Foundation who organized the meeting.  

Dr. John Carsley, Medical Health Officer with Vancouver Coastal Health and a member of the Urban Public Health Network described it as an invigorating meeting: “There were lively discussions among people who are deeply committed to the creation of healthy communities that foster physical activity”.

The meeting included 5-minute presentations from the 18 partners who have received project funding from the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer through the Healthy Canada by Design CLASP Initiative.  “It was impressive to learn about all of the innovative work that is being done in communities across the country to foster active transportation” offered Manny Arango, Director of Health Policy with the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

The meeting included four technical presentations; one on the health and transportation data that is needed and available to inform active transportation planning in British Columbia; another on the health-enhanced land use planning software tool that was developed for Toronto; one on the data that is being collected to create a health impact assessment tool for transportation planning in Montreal; and a fourth one on the primary data that has been collected on travel and eating behaviour and attitudes in the Region of Waterloo.  These are posted at: http://hcbd-clasp.com/hcbd-peer-to-peer-sessions/

The 2-day meeting included three round-table sessions directed at: provincial and national policies and programs that affect active transportation; the sustainability of the active transportation work being done by the partners; and the sustainability of the Healthy Canada by Design Partnership.

“There was re-sounding support for the continuation of the Coalition; for more networking, information-sharing, and multi-sectoral collaboration” Dr. Carsley offered. “Now we just have to figure out how to fund it.”

Prepared by Kim Perrotta