The Health Promotion Directorate. Health and Welfare Canada

The Health Promotion Directorate is the organizational unit within the Department of National Health and Welfare responsible for enhancing the quality and acceptance of health promotion as a means of improving the health of Canadians. It was established in 1978 as an expression of the federal government's desire to act on the health promotion strategy outlined in the 1974 document "A New Perspective on the Health of Canadians". The statutory basis rests in the National Health and Welfare Act which states that the duties and functions of the Minister include "all matters relating to the promotion or preservation of the health of the people of Canada". The role of the Directorate in promoting health was confirmed by a decision of the federal cabinet in 1982.