Regional News
May 10, 2008 09:02 PM
Patrick Mangion
Consumers will benefit from greater scrutiny of natural health products that have gone unchecked for years, despite growing opposition to proposed changes under the Food and Drugs Act, Health Minister Tony Clement told York Region Media Group.
“I (have no power to) recall a natural health product. All I can do is warn. I don’t have that power under the current legislation and it could potentially affect the health and safety of Canadians,” Mr. Clement said.
The health minister visited York Region Media Group for a round-table discussion Friday, accompanied by Newmarket-Aurora Conservative candidate Lois Brown.
Over the past few months, the Liberal and Conservative parties have sent high-profile members of their caucuses into the riding, still held by MP Belinda Stronach. Ms Stronach will not seek re-election.
Liberal leader Stephane Dion visited Newmarket and Aurora April 29, in lock-step with local Liberal candidate Tim Jones.
During a one-hour visit to The Economist & Sun, Mr. Clement also took time to chide Premier Dalton McGuinty over his demand for increased transfer payments and address the state of Canada’s health care system.
However, the move to regulate over-the-counter health supplements is becoming a growing concern to its detractors.
Protests were scheduled this weekend in Calgary and at Queen’s Park in Toronto yesterday.
The health product industry feel it’s being unfairly targeted by Ottawa, said Lynne Hinton, co-owner of Health House, a Markham nutrition consulting practice.
She understands why the federal government feels the need to impose stronger regulations, but disagrees with how it is going about it.
“I see it from their point of view. But this could have a huge impact on the industry and (the federal government) isn’t aware of it,” Ms Hinton said.
The amendments to Bill C-51, now in its second reading, if approved, would give the government sweeping new powers, including imposing fines of up to $5 million, demanding recalls and calling for clinical testing for natural health products believed to pose a potential risk.
But including natural health products under the same legislation regulating prescription drugs implies health products are dangerous, said Ms Hinton, adding the industry should have a separate set of regulations.
Natural health products are not being targeted, Mr. Clement argued.
“I support natural health products. But I want to make sure they’re safe. I have an obligation to make sure they’re safe, so (natural health products) will be regulated. Just like prescription drugs are regulated, just like food is regulated,” he said.
“If a natural heath product is more akin to a food, if it’s a vitamin supplement, if the impact on your health is relatively minor, you’re going to be fast-tracked through the process. Your level of scrutiny is going to be lower because the potential negative impact is much, much lighter,” the minister said.
“But if your natural health product is claiming to cure cancer, then, quite frankly, yes, we’re going to have some scrutiny on that product.”
Ms Hinton is concerned successful small enterprises could be run out of business, if, for example, they are forced to conduct trials on their products.
Natural health product providers, however, will have difficulty meeting the same standards as the pharmaceutical industry since they rarely patent their products. Clinical trials would be cost-prohibitive to many natural health product makers, critics said.
Mr. Clement suggested as many as 40,000 natural health products, available to Canadians, are sitting unapproved on store shelves awaiting testing in a cash-strapped system established by the Liberals during the mid-1990s.
Before visiting Southlake Regional Health Centre, he assured residents universal health care would be maintained at a high level, despite demands for more cash from Ontario’s premier.