Petition for Eating Disorders Awareness Week in Ontario
TO THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO:
Whereas as of 2016 there are an estimated one million people suffering from eating disorders in Canada;
Whereas the mental health system in Ontario is fragmented and is failing to provide the necessary supports to those suffering;
Whereas eating disorders have the highest mortality rates of any mental illness;
Whereas an estimated 75% of young people suffering from mental illness in Ontario do not receive treatment;
Whereas the morbidity of eating disorders is extensive and as of 2016 the life expectancy of individuals with anorexia nervosa is 20 to 25 years less than would normally be expected;
Whereas in 2016 Ontario’s Auditor General reported that the past Liberal Government spent 10 million dollars sending 127 youth to the United States for services not offered in Ontario;
Whereas that $10 million could have helped more than 500 people suffering from eating disorders here in Ontario;
Whereas factors like food & income security, access to housing, health care & mental health supports and experiences of systemic violence like sexism, racism and homophobia can contribute to the development and treatment of eating disorders;
Whereas public portrayals often depict one type of body as an ideal over other diverse or different bodies;
Therefore, we the undersigned petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to pass Bill 61, Eating Disorders Awareness
Week Act, 2018 that would make the week beginning February 1 in each year Eating Disorders Awareness Week (EDAW).