Health Alert Bulletin 1) Bill C-51 Fact Sheet - Canadian Rights And Freedoms Are At Risk
On April 8th, 2008, the Canadian Minister of Health introduced Bill C-51 into the House of Commons. This Bill proposes significant changes to the current Food and Drugs Act that will have wide-ranging negative implications for Canadians.
Bill C-51 will: - Remove democratic oversight, bypassing elected officials to vote in laws and allow bureaucrats to adopt laws from other countries without our consent.
- Remove up to 70% of Natural Health Products from Canadians and many others will be available by prescription only.
- Restrict research and development of safe natural alternatives in favor of high risk drugs.
- Punish Canadians with little or no opportunity for protection or recourse for simply speaking about or giving a natural product without the approval of government. More than 70% of Canadians use a Natural Health Product.
- The new law goes so far as to warrant action against a person who would give another person an "unapproved" amount of garlic on the recommendation that it would improve that person's health.
Proposed New Enforcement Powers: - Inspectors will enter private property without a warrant
- Inspectors will take your property at their discretion
- Inspectors will dispose of your property at will
- Inspectors will not reimburse you for your losses
- Inspectors will seize your bank accounts
- Inspectors will charge owners shipping and storage charges for seized property.
- Inspectors will be empowered to store your property indefinitely.
- Inspectors will levy fines of up to $5,000,000.00 and/or seek 2 years in jail per incident.
- " Will this new law be used to abuse and punish special interest groups, minorities, religious groups or others? "
- Why do bureaucrats want to bypass the Parliament and Senate's approval to create new laws?
- Why do bureaucrats want seizure warrants without judge approval?
- With fines being increased a 1000 times, and seizing authority without a warrant, is Bill C-51 meant to bankrupt and silence its target audience?
But don't just take our word for it. We encourage you to go online and do your own research. READ Bill C-51 (link below) Here's what you can do to protect your rights: Forward this information to all of your concerned friends, family and community leaders. With your assets and money under their control, will you be able to defend yourself in Court?
Can you trust government with this new law and enforcement power?
Would our government really ever turn this law against us?
Read the following account.
Example:
In 2003, Health Canada launched an attack on a group of mentally ill patients and the company who supported them naturally. They seized shipments of a safe natural therapy required by the patients and stormed the support center with 17 armed officers and agents. The company (Truehope) reported that they lost contact with more than 300 of their Canadian participants. The Canadian Mental Health Association told of suicides as a result of government action. Health Canada then charged the not for profit company, burdening them with heavy legal costs. Truehope was found innocent by necessity and instructed by the judge to continue under legal and moral responsibility. Although the agents admitted knowing they were injuring people through their actions, they stated under oath they care only about policy and directive. And what happened to the more than 300 mentally ill Canadians that became unreachable? In the months and years following, reports of hospitalizations and suicides during the seizures have surfaced. No Health Canada agent has ever been charged.
Bill C-51 Update & Endangered Natural Health Products Seminar - Vancouver
Bill C-51 passed first reading on April 8, 2008 and - and as of May 13, 2008, contrary to some confusion - had not yet passed second reading. The Bill is still being debated within the House of Commons, as stated in its status report: http://www.parl.gc.ca/LEGISINFO/index.asp?Language=E...Letters to politicians and the media have succeeded in raising public and political awareness about Bill C-51. HANS continues to urge members and consumers of natural health products to raise their concerns about the Bill (see How to Get Involved, below).
Responses from MPs have varied from offering assurances about the benefits of the Bill to, conversely, echoing constituent concerns. Accordingly, we are including (below) valuable links for more in-depth information and discussion points on Bill C-51 that should be raised with politicians and all concerned parties.
Buckley is a lawyer whose expertise in natural health product regulations has been gleaned from a decade of representing manufacturers in court against Health Canada.
In the meantime, here are a few specific points of discussion about Bill C-51:
The Bill would redefine natural health products, cosmetics, medical devices and cells, tissues and organs as "therapeutic products".
There are concerns that this definition ignores the fundamental differences between NHPs and drugs, including the historical efficacy and relatively low safety risks of NHPs.
The Bill would bestow greater powers on Health Canada and federal inspectors to enforce regulations and demand industry compliance.
There are concerns that, given our ongoing tumultuous NHP regulations (see backgrounder below) and the fact that a significant percent of products technically have and will become illegal as a result of our existing regulations, the Bill will encourage unnecessary enforcement and reduce product availability.
Bill C-51 would allow Health Canada to implement regulations and standards set by (non-Canadian) bodies, agencies, organizations, industrial or trade organizations and governments.
There are concerns that this opens the door to restrictive standards and guidelines such as CODEX Alimentarius Commission, which may limit nutritional supplement dosages and detrimentally affect purchasing patterns of consumers. There are concerns that, under the guise of strategic harmonization, international agendas related to functional foods and natural health products could be imposed on Canadians without necessary public scrutiny and input.
Regulations Background Information
In the late 1990s, the 53 recommendations put forward by then federal Minister of Health Allan Rock and the Standing Committee on Health were intended to ensure natural health products (NHPs) were regulated in a way that recognized their uniqueness from pharmaceutical drugs; a third category for NHPs was proposed - and promised - at that time.
Instead, NHPs have been regulated as a subsection within the drug category. Although they have been given a Natural Health Products Directorate (NHPD), they still fall within a pharmaceutical-type framework that has created considerable strain on manufacturers and distributors, and has resulted in serious delays and the rejection of more than 60 percent of produce licenses for NHPs (as noted on the NHPD website).
It's estimated that as high as 75 percent of licenses for NHPs will be rejected, after which time it's unclear how many will be submitted for reapplication. Products sold without a license are, in effect, illegal. Products are supposed to be voluntarily removed, or subject to Health Canada enforcement. It is into this existing regulatory reality that Bill C-51 has been injected.
HANS is of the opinion that Bill C-51's implications towards the natural health products industry and Canadians who use natural health products (NHPs) should be deeply considered if the Bill is allowed to progress in the legislative process.
How to Get Involved
Contact your Member of Parliament ASAP. Inform him/her that: - you are opposed to Bill C-51 due to its implications for the natural health products industry;
- you want him/her to vote against Bill C-51;
- you want your access to natural health products protected.
To find out who your MP is, search by postal code at: http://www2.parl.gc.ca/Parlinfo/Compilations/HouseOfCommons/MemberByPostalCode.aspx?Menu=HOC
Send an e-mail to your MLA and MP, as well as to the Senate. (see below) (We are encouraging e-mails due to time constraints BUT a handwritten, hand-signed letter is equally if not more important, and no postage is required.)
To mass email, most programs will only accept a limited number of recipients. The links below divide members of the parliament and senate into groups so you can cut and paste your message into each email. The addresses appear as "BCC", make yourself the "TO" recipient. BCC may be best to curtail your server from suspecting you of spamming and cutting you off to these emails. It is best to put your address and phone number after your signature. They take you more seriously this way and you may even get a response other than an auto-reply. If you're writing with goodness in your heart you need not have any fears, you are exercising your legal rights. Phone your MP and the Prime Minister's Office to voice your concerns.
Dial toll-free 1-866-599-4999 and ask to be transferred to any MPs office. The hours of this service are:
Monday - Thursday, 8:30 - 6:00 pm Eastern standard time
Friday only, 8:30 - 5:00 pm Eastern Standard time
Stephen Harper's phone numbers are (613) 992-4211 and (403) 253-7990. Tony Clement's phone numbers are (613) 944-7740 and (705) 746-9053.
Introduce this issue to your local media. (see some media coverage links below)
Also write a handwritten letter to: (sample letters)
- your local MP;
- Prime Minister Stephen Harper;
- Tony Clement, Minister of Health.
You can send your letters without postage to:
(Name of person)
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON
K1A 0A6 Read a Draft Discussion Paper on Bill C-51 by Shawn Buckley, lawyer and president of the Natural Health Products Protection Association: http://www.nhppa.org/
Read Bill C-51 April 30, 2008 House of Commons Debate transcript (Use Next Feature on site to follow the debate as the days pass): http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication...
Or, Search Debate Transcript for Bill C-51 Here: http://www2.parl.gc.ca/housechamberbusiness/ChamberP...
50 international scientists, physicians and associated health practitioners are calling upon Canada's Health Minister to reconsider its plan to amend the Food and Drugs Act (Bill C-51).
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/May2008/0...
Watch this video:
http://www.jameslunneymp.ca/video.htm
BATCH EMAIL MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT Most email programs will only handle a few names at a time so they've been divided up into about 20 addresses per email. We suggest you send one email per day. Simply copy and paste the text from one of the Samples below into the email, add your personal information where indicated, PROOF READ your email, and send. Alternatively, you can copy the text into Word or Notepad, adjust accordingly, print out, sign and send. Remember, you don't have to put a stamp on it either. Be sure to put your own email address as the TO address To email yourself with MP's as 'bcc': BCC MP1 BCC MP2 BCC MP3 BCC MP4 BCC MP5 BCC MP6 BCC MP7 BCC MP8 BCC MP9 BCC MP10 BCC MP11 BCC MP12 BCC MP13 BCC MP14 BCC MP15 The Senate: To email yourself with the Senate as 'bcc':
BCC S1 BCC S2 BCC S3 BCC S4 BCC S5 BCC S6 Sample #1 (Business) Sample #1 (Consumer) Sample #2 (Business) Sample #2 (Consumer) Sample #3 (Business) Sample #3 (Consumer) Sample #4 (Business) Sample #4 (Consumer) Sample #5 (Business) Sample #5 (Consumer) Sample Letter #6 (Tony Clement)
|
