jackie_w

Hello,

My husband and I have decided to give Canada a go, and try to move over there.

There is just one thing I want to find out before we go any further.

My youngest has a peanut allergy, and has to have an epipen. As many of you know here in the UK and europe if a food has certain food types in it it must be noted with a warning. Is it like this in Canada. Also, does anyone know if the health insurance in Canada will cover my son for this.

If the canadian food doesnt carry this warning and the health insurance wont cover my sons allergy, then we may need to re-think things.


Im sorry if this is the wrong board to post this on but I get a bit lost on here sometimes and am still trying to find my way.

Jackie

el_richo

I can't really offer a huge contribution to your question other than to say my very good friend has the same allergy out there and doesn't have an issue with buying food. Not sure how the labelling is as i never pay attention to it.

jackie_w

Thank you el richo for taking the time to reply.

Does your friend have cover with the medical insurance for the peanut allergy?

jackie

el_richo

I'm not too sure on that one but i can certainly find out, unless somebody on here beats me to the answer.

jackie_w

Hi again el richo,

That would be fantastic if you could find that out if its not too much trouble.

Jackie

Bali2010

This government site & the links on it might help:

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/securit...achide-eng.php

Not sure if the medical cover differs by province, so might be worth checking the sites for the province / provinces you are looking at.

My only personal experience was in the 1990's at a guide camp & the organisers were aware of it then -in that no peanut substances were allowed at the camp, regardless of whether the girls were known to have allergies, just in case.

Bali

Elaine B.

FWIW when my little boy went to daycare and school in Toronto a couple of years ago there was a strict no peanut policy and one of the kids in his SK class had an epipen.

jackie_w

Thanks everyone for taking the time to reply.

Will definetly be reading more up on this.
Its good to know that the Canadian schools do take the same approach to peanuts as the schools here in the Uk do.

Jackie

AmyDavid

Two little girls at my daughter's school have peanut allergies. There is a no-peanut ban at all schools and pre-schools around here.

Even birthday parties here are peanut free incase one of these girls attend. Food packaging clearly states whether it is peanut free or not, and there is quite a lot of choice of non-peanutty food here - so the kids have lots of choice to take to school.

Good luck.

lilybilly101

I think you should be fine with the coverage as it's not like the States where you get cruelly stung for pre existing conditions. I have a student in my class who carries an epi pen and the studio is a peanut free space at all times. Schools (but all vary) will often ban peanuts if and when a student has an allergy so it can be difficult for that individual. My friend's little boy said, 'It's great, Lewis is leaving so we can have peanut butter and jelly again'. I felt so bad for little Lewis!

Auld Yin

The peanut allergy situation is continually under scrutiny in Canada and most, if no all, school boards are on top of it. If someone requires medical treatment as a result of the allergy it is covered by our health systems.

el_richo

Ok, so he says that his health coverage subsidises his epi-pen and any issues arising from an attack is covered by Canadian healthcare.

So by the sounds of it, and reading through the others posting here you'll have no issues at all.

I also see Air Canada are going to be nut free soon (or may already be).

jackie_w

This is great news about the health insurance covering the peanut allergy.

Thank you for finding this out.

Jackie

atscmc

Hi,
I have found Canada to be very allergy friendly and very respectful of a person's allergies. I have some mild food allergies and it is no problem when I go out for a meal and ask for something to be left out. People are very aware of the problems of severe allergies leading to anaphylaxis and that people need epipens for this.

Chris

Butch Cassidy

Read that back to yourself Amy and you'll see why I would think that was a VERY dangerous for those girls.