Urgent: Bill C-51 to Go to Second Reading this Week. Please Contact Your MP Now.

[Guest guest]

Forwarded from HANS E-News

 

Urgent: Bill C-51 to Go to Second Reading this Week. Please Contact Your MP

Now.

 

HANS is concerned that Bill C-51 to amend the Food and Drugs Act, a Bill

with worrisome implications for the natural health products industry and

consumers, is being pushed into law too fast, and we encourage you to phone,

fax, or

e-mail your Member of Parliament ASAP.

 

ASAP as in this weekend ... before April 28, 2008.

 

It was only on April 8th that Bill C-51 passed its first reading in the

House of Commons, and only in the April 15th HANS e-News that we raised the

issue

of Bill C-51. But it has been announced that a second reading will occur on

April 28th.

 

Less than three weeks between first and second readings?

 

HANS believes that this unusually short time frame does not provide ample

time to respond to a Bill that will affect - potentially detrimentally affect -

the two-thirds of Canadians who choose to use natural health products to

improve and sustain their health. Industry stakeholders, professional

associations and concerned groups have not had ample opportunity to examine and

debate

Bill C-51, let alone compose official positions on this latest regulatory

issue. The public, as well, has been neglected in this rush.

 

If Bill C-51 is ultimately passed, HANS fears that the freedom of Canadian

consumers to choose from amongst a variety of safe, effective natural health

products will be diminished.

 

HANS also objects to Bill C-51 because it creates additional confusion in an

industry already struggling to implement/react to existing natural health

product regulations. Not only does the Bill create additional confusion, but it

also supports the idea of our regulatory system treating natural health

products the same as pharmaceutical drugs.

 

If Bill C-51 is passed, HANS fears that it will be even more difficult to

establish an appropriately regulated natural health products industry using a

system that recognizes the distinctiveness of NHPs, their relative safety and

historical efficacy.

 

For all these reasons, HANS is encouraging all of our members and friends to

contact their elected politicians ASAP to express their opinions about Bill

C-51.

 

This is your opportunity to explain how being denied the natural products

you use would affect your health personally. In your e-mail/letter, you may

wish to ask additional questions, including: why are natural health products

currently regulated in a drug-style regime even though Health Canada once

promised that this would not be the case?

 

A bit of history ... HANS hosted four public forums about natural health

product regulation from 1997 to 1999. Attendance ranged from 800 to 1,700. The

public - consumers of these natural products - were concerned that changing

regulations would mean a reduction in their ability to purchase, at reasonable

prices, their supplements. We have been told that this was the largest

expression of public concern in recorded history.

 

The result was a special report with 53 recommendations, which were, in

theory, to protect the public's choices, as well as to guarantee safety. The

government at the time was a liberal government and Minister of Health was

Allan

Rock.

 

Why hasn't Health Canada adopted any of the 53 recommendations from the

committee that Allan Rock said they would endorse?

 

Why have existing natural health product regulations resulted in failed

product applications in at least 60 percent of cases and potentially many more -

another situation that Health Canada said wouldn't happen? A situation that,

in effect, makes these products illegal and more likely to be removed from the

market?

 

How to Get Involved

 

1) Contact your Member of Parliament ASAP.

 

Inform him/her that:

- you are opposed to Bill C-51;

- 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/HouseOf..._

(http://www2.parl.gc.ca/Parlinfo/Compilations/HouseOfCommons/MemberByPostalCode.\

aspx?Menu=HOC)

 

If you want to email all MPs and need a complete list, email HANS and we'll

send it as an attachment.

 

2) Send a copy of your e-mail to hans.

 

3) Forward this e-mail to everybody you know and request that they do the

same.

 

4) Phone your MP and the Prime Minister's Office to voice your concerns.

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.

 

5) Introduce this issue to your local media.

 

6) On June 2, 2008, attend the " Endangered Natural Health Products " public

event, co-hosted by HANS and Common Ground Magazine

Speaker: Shawn Buckley, LLB and president of the Natural Health Products

Protection Association

When: Monday June 2, 2008 7-9 pm

Where: St Andrew's - Wesley Church, 1022 Nelson Street, Vancouver

Tickets: available at www.hans.org or by calling 604-435-0512, or at the door

 

7) Also write a handwritten letter to:

- 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

 

For more information:

 

Read a copy of Bill C-51:

_http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication..._

(http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?DocId=3398126) &

 

Read a Draft Discussion Paper on Bill C-51 by Shawn Buckley, president of

the Natural Health Products Protection Association: _http://www.nhppa.org_

(http://www.nhppa.org/) /

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Founded in 1984, Health Action Network Society is a membership-based,

non-profit charitable organization dedicated to gathering and disseminating

health

promotion information.