Infant Feeding Joint Working Group: Terms of reference
On this page
- 1.0 Mandate
- 2.0 Responsibility centre
- 3.0 Coordination and secretariat
- 4.0 Membership
- 5.0 Tenure
- 6.0 Retiring from the joint working group
- 7.0 Affiliations and interests
- 8.0 Roles and responsibilities
- 9.0 Media
- 10.0 Transparency
- 11.0 Meetings
- 12.0 Travel and expenses
- 13.0 Public engagement
- 14.0 Intellectual property
- 15.0 Publication
Preface
The Infant Feeding Joint Working Group is responsible for developing revised, evidence-informed, infant feeding recommendations.
This terms of reference was endorsed on Thursday, July 6th, 2023.
1.0 Mandate
The Infant Feeding Joint Working Group, hereafter referred to as the joint working group, will revise infant feeding recommendations by:
- assisting in the collection and review of current evidence
- contributing to drafting content
- reviewing and commenting on the draft documents and supporting materials
- liaising with their respective organizations to coordinate their review and sign-off of the recommendations prior to publication
- coordinating the broad dissemination of the recommendations
The Minister of Health retains final decision-making authority and accountability for the recommendations.
2.0 Responsibility centre
The Bureau of Healthy Eating Policy and Promotion, Health Products and Food Branch, Health Canada, is responsible for the joint working group.
3.0 Coordination and secretariat
The Bureau of Healthy Eating Policy and Promotion will coordinate the joint working group, providing secretariat and administrative support.
4.0 Membership
Membership on the Joint Working Group will include representatives from:
- Dietitians of Canada
- Canadian Paediatric Society
- Breastfeeding Committee for Canada
- Food and Nutrition Directorate, Health Canada
- First Nations and Inuit Health Branch, Indigenous Services Canada
- Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention Branch, Public Health Agency of Canada
Each organization will appoint members to the joint working group. The joint working group will have up to 12 members. The joint working group may agree to invite ad hoc members to attend particular meetings or join the joint working group. Ad hoc members follow the same rules and procedures as core members and review and provide advice on a particular topic or agenda item.
5.0 Tenure
Each organization will appoint joint working group members for the duration of the recommendation revision process (approximately 4 years).
6.0 Retiring from the joint working group
A member may retire from the joint working group by writing to the Bureau of Healthy Eating Policy and Promotion, including the effective date of the retirement and a suggested replacement.
7.0 Affiliations and interests
External representatives, appointed by their organization, shouldn't have any potential conflict of interest. Members should update the Bureau of Healthy Eating Policy and Promotion of any changes to their affiliations and interests promptly and on an ongoing basis.
8.0 Roles and responsibilities
Members
The primary responsibilities of members of the joint working group are to develop revised, evidence-informed, infant feeding recommendations by:
- participating in meetings of the joint working group
- contributing to the development of content by:
- contributing content
- providing input on draft recommendations and other materials
- briefing senior management of their respective organizations
- liaising with their respective organizations to keep them informed of progress and ensuring the needs of their organizations are taken into account
- providing any other support as deemed appropriate
Commitment to confidentiality
To support their ability to provide well-informed advice, joint working group members must commit to confidentiality and ensure they won't disclose any sensitive or confidential information received as part of their involvement in the joint working group. Before participating in the joint working group, external members must sign a confidentiality agreement that applies to information received in writing or verbally, including:
- through email correspondence, telephone calls and print materials
- during presentations and discussions at joint working group meetings
The secretariat will ensure that everyone participating in the meeting, telephone discussion, email exchange or in another form of communication has received clear instructions on the confidentiality of the proceedings.
9.0 Media
Joint working group members are requested to direct all media inquiries about the joint working group and their work to the secretariat, who in turn will contact Health Canada's Media Relations team.
The secretariat must review and approve social media content that is developed by a joint working group member and which describes work conducted by the group before being disseminated.
10.0 Transparency
Transparency of the joint working group is served by posting the terms of reference and the membership list on Health Canada's website after they have been approved by the members of the joint working group.
Health Canada is subject to the Access to Information Act, which provides Canadian citizens and permanent residents of Canada the right to access information contained in federal government records, subject to certain specific and limited exceptions. The act serves to enhance the accountability and transparency of federal institutions in order to:
- promote an open and democratic society
- enable public debate on the conduct of those institutions
Information pertaining to the work of the joint working group provided to Health Canada, including input from its members in any form (emails, meeting records, etc.), may be assessed for public release in the event that Health Canada receives a request for access to this information. Members may consult with the secretariat for additional information on implications of the act.
11.0 Meetings
Meeting agenda
The coordinator will prepare the agenda for meetings of the joint working group with input from the joint working group.
Meeting notices and invitation
Meeting attendance is by invitation only. The Bureau of Healthy Eating Policy and Promotion will send invitations to attend a meeting.
Frequency, type and location
Joint working group meetings will be held 3 to 4 times a year. Meetings will be conducted virtually.
Meeting summaries
The Bureau of Healthy Eating Policy and Promotion will prepare summaries of each joint working group meeting and circulate them to members for their approval. The summaries won't contain references to comments made by individual members.
12.0 Travel and expenses
We don't anticipate any travel at this time. However, if members of the joint working group travel for authorized joint working group purposes, Health Canada will reimburse their travel and accommodation expenses according to the Travel Directive and Directive on Travel, Hospitality, Conference and Event Expenditures.
13.0 Public engagement
Health Canada will seek broad public input on a draft of the revised guidelines. Health Canada will:
- consult with joint working group members on the public engagement approach
- consider the views of the joint working group in planning and implementing the public engagement activity
14.0 Intellectual property
Health Canada must preserve its ability to use (for example publish, reproduce, translate) the work authored by members of the joint working group who have contributed to the development of the joint statement in their role on the group. The joint working group will be required to assign to the Government of Canada any copyrights it owns and to waive any moral rights it has in those written materials.
15.0 Publication
Health Canada will publish the revised recommendations online.