OTTAWA - Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor is trying to distinguish the Liberals as a party of scientific, evidence-based policy while she says Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer is spreading misinformation about Canada's new food guide.
Petitpas Taylor held a news conference in Ottawa today, along with her colleague Marco Mendicino, to say the Conservatives are willing to throw away research and evidence underpinning the creation of the new dietary guide.
In January, Health Canada released an overhauled document that did away with traditional food groups and portion sizes and focused instead on broader guidelines, including eating more plant-based protein and drinking more water.
Last Wednesday, Scheer told an annual gathering of the Dairy Farmers of Canada in Saskatoon that the process to craft the new version of the document was "flawed" and that the guide needs to reflect what "science tells us."
He also pledged that a Conservative government would "absolutely" review the guide, adding there was a "complete lack of consultation" on the new version.
Petitpas Taylor's news conference followed an appearance by the Conservatives' Pierre Poilievre, attacking the Liberals for bringing back Gerald Butts as a campaign adviser following his resignation in the SNC-Lavalin affair last winter.