As one of 12 Niagara mayors, Goulbourne is automatically a member of regional council. Council members divide up who sits on various committees and Goulbourne sits on both the region's planning/public works committee and its public health/social services committee.

He said at a meeting of the public health committee June 24 that the so-called "soft" services the region provides often play second banana to what's often referred to as "hard" services: road construction, water and sewer plants, and landfills.

"We're always defined by bridges, roads and waste management facilities," he said. "(Health issues) get overshadowed at times."

But a report to politicians highlighting what's known as social marketing initiatives in the coming months shows the region is much more than that and regional councillors who don't sit on the health and social services committee and the general public need to know that, Goulbourne said.

Social marketing campaigns use a combination of media coverage, website promotion, paid advertisements, printed materials and other methods to inform the public about events and resources to help them to live healthier, safer lives.

"Public health is about promoting health, preventing disease, prolonging life and improving quality of life," Fiona Peacefull, community development manager for the region's public health department, said in a report.

The numerous social marketing activities either ongoing or coming soon that Goulbourne said the region should get credit for range from everything from the Think and Drive campaign to reduce the number of serious and fatal car crashes, to classes to teach parents how to properly install child car seats, a "Be a Great Parent" campaign, a campaign to raise awareness of the importance of checking the health of babies at age 18 months, a workshop targeting workplaces of a sedentary nature, a campaign to raise awareness of the importance of breast feeding, an annual youth forum on sexuality, an online campaign encouraging families to be active during the winter months and a program encouraging high schools to promote healthy food options in cafeterias and vending machines.