Well being Minister Sonia Bélanger will meet on Wednesday with the dad and mom of Zachary Miron, the 15-year-old who died in 2024 after ingesting a can of “Purple Bull”.
The combination of his ADHD treatment and the vitality drink induced an arrhythmia that led to his sudden dying whereas he was snowboarding in Morin Heights, within the Laurentians, together with his class.
Since then, his dad and mom, David Miron and Veronica Martinez, have been campaigning to ban the sale of those drinks to these underneath 16. Their petition has already gathered greater than 14,500 signatures on the Nationwide Meeting web site.
On Tuesday, Minister Bélanger once more refused to say whether or not she would comply with the request, which is supported by Public Well being. She acknowledged that she needed to proceed in phases, beginning with a gathering with Miron and Martinez.
“I’ll have the chance to satisfy (…) the dad and mom of the younger man who died to (…) focus on with them. I’ll then have the ability to see what the following steps can be,” she stated in a press scrum in Quebec Metropolis.
Bélanger specified that she can be accompanied throughout this assembly by Québec solidaire MNA Guillaume Cliche-Rivard, who could be very concerned within the challenge. Moreover, she indicated that she would possibly determine to fee further research on the topic.
“There are opinions, (…) however that doesn’t imply I gained’t ask for others to element sure components. (…) There are completely different experiences, suggestions, however we have to go a lot additional,” she argued.
“We’ll take it step-by-step, I’m assembly the dad and mom for the primary time and we’ll proceed to see what we are able to do.”
The petition mentions that England and Norway have banned the sale of vitality drinks to these underneath 16. Latvia and Lithuania prohibit the sale of those drinks to all minors.
“We have to have a debate, a dialogue about vitality drinks, as a result of the talk has taken place elsewhere and the federal government has a report that it should unveil,” Liberal MNA Monsef Derraji stated at a press convention on Tuesday.
“This poses a well being threat to younger folks,” acknowledged MNA Joël Arseneau of the Parti Québécois. “We don’t have any proposals on this regard, however we’re prepared to check the federal government’s proposal on this matter.”
Cliche-Rivard stated he sensed an openness from all elected officers. “I’m due to this fact extending my hand to the minister who can actually make a distinction on the finish of her mandate and honour the reminiscence of Zachary Miron,” he instructed The Canadian Press.
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews