The bought-and-paid-for Canadian government is attempting to amend the Food and Drugs Act to increase onerous regulations against natural health products. These regulations threaten the very existence of natural product businesses, will censor life-saving information and will restrict the number of health products on the market.
Canadian government seeks more power to shut down natural products and businesses
In Bill C-47, the Canadian government seeks to obtain even more power over the natural products industry. This natural products industry includes supplement manufacturers and their suppliers and distributors, as well as herbal product developers who are making products that assist the body in healing itself. These products include vitamins and minerals, probiotics, amino acids, herbal remedies, homeopathic medicines and natural cosmetic products that don’t include synthetic chemicals.
The government has cracked down on the natural products industry in recent years (with Bill C-51 in 2008) and similar proposals that have been hard to enforce. The new bill would “strengthen the safety oversight of natural health products throughout their life cycle” and “promote greater confidence in the oversight of natural health products by increasing transparency.” Division 27 of Part 4 changes the Food and Drugs Act to increase regulations and fines for “therapeutic products.” Under the bill proposal, “natural health products” would now be considered “therapeutic products” and be subject to government controls that would limit access to the products.
Under the bill, NHPs will be treated like drugs, and in some cases, medical devices. Health Canada would gain newfound power to surveil the industry and impose fines up to $5 million for products that are suddenly deemed “unsafe.” Additionally, Health Canada would be able to recall products, dictate how the products can be labeled and marketed, and make business much harder for entrepreneurs who are looking to help people out. To make matters worse, Health Canada will also be allowed to charge NHP companies more to cover the government's newfound costs for regulating and surveilling them.
Health Canada fails to regulate Big Pharma, but seeks to shutdown helpful natural products
Currently, there are reasonable regulations to ensure that natural health products sold in Canada are legitimate. For one, NHPs are required to receive government approval and licensing before the products go to market. NHPs receive an eight-digit number from the government (displayed on the packaging) showing that they are approved products. The products must also be manufactured in a facility that is licensed with Health Canada, and the licensing is periodically reviewed.
It is important that NHPs are validated by a third party and confirmed to be what they say they are. Some companies may exaggerate claims on labels and on their advertisements. NHPs should have a complete list of ingredients, with warning labels for risks during pregnancy, etc. However, the latest bill goes too far and gives the Canadian health authorities the power to stifle helpful products, censor individuals and shut down good businesses. With these new regulations, the government would really be able to censor testimonials about these products and shut down lifesaving information that can improve an individual’s health and be part of the solution for chronic disease and infectious disease risk. It would be a serious blow to health freedom, a big step toward limiting non-pharmaceutical options.
"This is really a war on natural health,” said David Stephan of Hartleyville, Alberta. It’s a war "on access to natural health products that stand in the way of the pharmaceutical industry having a complete monopoly," he told the Epoch Times. Mr. Stephan works for his father’s natural health product business, True Hope, which was founded in the 1990s. The family has opposed Canada’s increasing regulation over the years. According to Mr. Stephen, the regulations are designed to drive up the cost of doing business, (upwards of 25%) to ultimately restrict the number of natural health products on the market. Under this bill, smaller companies wouldn’t even be able to afford a single government fine, which can be levied for a number of absurd reasons.
Over the years, pharmaceutical executives have increasingly shared a revolving door with the regulatory agencies. Once inside the government, these Big Pharma executives leverage the power of the agencies to eliminate their competition. One of the symptoms of this corruption is pharmaceutical lobbying of the government, which has quadrupled since March 2022.
“Over the last about 14 years, we’ve seen a constant diminishment of the amount of natural health products available in the Canadian market,” Mr. Stephan said. “And it’s just taking place at a slow enough rate that the average person wouldn’t catch it.” This trend will continue with the passage of Bill C-47.
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