What is Canada’s history with the Code?

On May 20, 1981, Canada voted FOR the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes at the 34th World Health Assembly in Geneva.

(See page 207 of the .pdf of the
SUMMARY RECORDS OF COMMITTEES of the
THIRTY- FOURTH WORLD HEALTH ASSEMBLY GENEVA.)

Colour coded map of countries according to whether their laws are substantially aligned with the Code, moderately aligned with the Code, have some provisions of the Code included , and no legal measures.

How does Canada compare to other countries?

Canada has not implemented the Code in law



Image credit: Grummer-Strawn, L. (2020, May 24). Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes: National Implementation of the International Code - Status Report 2020 - Launch Event 28 May 2020. Slide 6. Retrieved January 12, 2022, from https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/breastfeeding/event/online-launch-2020-code-status-report/presentation-laurencegrummer-strawn-resultsandfindings.pdf?sfvrsn=ca9e21ae_2&fbclid=IwAR1gLy-YrH6ESO53W47_Abt0rKddH5tEvDhrccu2-YJw_RWf7QfrNb7vnQ4

Formula is working for my family. Why should I care about the Code?

The Code protects formula feeding families from deceptive “niche marketing” practices that suggest some formulas are worth higher prices even when the nutritional properties of that higher priced formula may be no different than some lower priced formulas.

The Code also ensures your health practitioner, hospital and clinic are not under the influence of donated formula and industry sponsored “education”.

Lisez-vous la langue française? Autant mieux! Découvrez la page «Cadre légal du Code et recours» du Mouvement allaitement du Québec!

Don’t read French? Use Deepl.com or the Google Translate button on your browser to translate MAQ materials about general consumer protection laws and reporting mechanisms Canadians can use to call out some predatory marketing practises!

Click the appropriate image below to discover plain language annotations of the Code

Policy Makers, click on the image below to learn from the experience of other jurisdictions.

Health workers (including volunteers) click on the image below to learn about your specific responsibilities.