Canada minister walks for cause close to his heart
Wednesday, 05/12/2012
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HOSHIARPUR: If you believe in a cause, work to promote it. This is what British Columbia ( BC) finance minister Michael de Jong is doing these days. Walking the talk, he is spreading the message of healthy living, a cause close to his heart.
To raise the awareness level of citizens on diabetes and other chronic diseases, he is walking across Punjab. Former ministers Dr Gulzar Singh Cheema, Patty Sahota and eight other members of his team accompany him.
The team reached Bulhowal town on Monday evening and walked about two km. All members wore T- shirt displaying the mission of their visit and the map of their tour programme on the other.
District immunization officer Dr Ajay Bagga welcomed them and informed them about the healths chemes of the government.
Jong exhorted people t o denounce junk food and adopt a healthy lifestyle, if they were to fight diabetes, obesity and other chronic diseases. On Tuesday, he interacted with the media at hotel Presidency to inform about his mission.
“There is high incidence of diabetes in British Columbia’s vast population of Punjabis and I wondered what could be done to reduce the rate when I was the health minister,” said Jong. “Then the idea came to create awareness. Since the BC NRIs come back to their places of origin at this time, I chose to come to Punjab and involve them in the mission,” he added.
