The following statement was given today in the House of Assembly by the Honourable Lisa Dempster, Minister of Children, Seniors and Social Development:

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a noteworthy achievement by the Labrador-Grenfell Health Authority.

In July 2018, the Labrador West Health Centre became the first health care facility in

Atlantic Canada to receive the World Health Organization and UNICEF’s Baby-Friendly Designation.

The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative was launched in 1991, and is a worldwide effort to implement best practices to support breastfeeding. Today there are more than 150 participating countries.

Congratulations to everyone who helped achieve this designation, including the staff of Labrador-Grenfell Health, members of the Baby-Friendly Council of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Regional Baby Friendly Initiative Working Group.

Through your work, you are helping new parents make informed decisions about infant feeding and ensuring that families are supported in these decisions.

This initiative complements our commitment in The Way Forward to increase our province’s breastfeeding initiation rate by seven per cent by 2025.

We have also provided the Baby-Friendly Council with $25,000 to develop toolkits to help municipalities create breastfeeding-friendly spaces, policies and practices. These toolkits will be available this fall.

We also supported the recent Breastfeeding Research Symposium here in St. John’s, which brought together researchers, practitioners and policy makers to discuss ways to increase breastfeeding rates in this province.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in applauding Labrador-Grenfell Health and the Baby-Friendly Council for their commitment to supporting families in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Thank you.