13 June 2008 - 9:44Bill C-51 Must be Stopped NOT Amended
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The NHPPA has fielded many inquiries concerning whether Bill C-51 should be stopped or amended. Because of the tremendous threat posed by Bill C-51 the NHPPA is taking the position that:
- Bill C-51 must be stopped, not amended, and
- The Amend Bill C-51 campaign threatens to undermine the Stop Bill C-51 efforts and permit Bill C-51 to pass with only superficial amendments.
Bill C-51 is too Dangerous to Take Chances With
Bill C-51 is the most significant threat to the Natural Health Community in generations. Some of the problems with Bill C-51 include:
- It is an offence not to follow the instructions of a Health Canada Inspector regardless of whether that direction creates a health risk. Natural Health Practitioners who are told to stop providing a treatment will be committing an offence if they continue to help their patients. Manufacturers of Natural Health Products will be committing an offence if they continue to provide products people rely upon for their health. In effect, Bill C-51 enables Inspectors without medical training to make health decisions;
- the scope of the definition of sell is expanded in a manner that will include single sales of compounded NHPs by natural health practitioners;
- trade agreements and foreign laws can be imposed without Parliamentary scrutiny;
- Pre-approval by Health Canada of all therapeutic products regardless of risk profile becomes mandatory. Exceptions are only by regulation on a single narrow ground;
- Fines for violations are increased by unprecedented factors of 500 and 1000 times. Directors and officers are made personally liable. Few in the NHP Community could survive a prosecution if Bill C-51 passes;
- Inspectors can seize private property for any reason, for any length of time, and without judicial oversight or pre-approval;
- Inspectors can destroy seized property without Court approval;
- Property owners are liable for seizure, transportation and destruction costs regardless of whether the seizure and destruction was justified.
For a detailed analysis of Bill C-51 see our Discussion Paper.
Considering that Bill C-51 poses such a serious risk to the Natural Health Community, the NHPPA is taking the position that no strategy should be adopted that could permit the Bill to pass.
Amend Means you Support Bill C-51
Many Bills that pass into law are amended. The Government introduces a Bill. If it is supported by the public it will eventually pass with amendments caused by public input as to how to make the popular Bill better. The Government expects popular Bills to be amended.
When you ask for an amendment you are communicating that you support the Bill but that you want to make it better with some amendments.
The NHPPA is very concerned that if you communicate to the Government that you want Bill C-51 amended that:
- You are communicating support for Bill C-51. You are communicating that you want the Bill to pass with amendments that is what a call to amend is. When you say you want to amend a Bill you are communicating that you want it to pass. It is a vote for the Bill. If the government does not pass the Bill with amendments it is going against your wishes;
- You are sending a meaningless message. When you communicate that you want the Bill to pass with amendments you create confusion. Most citizens will not have the time or expertise to communicate how they want the Bill amended. Their efforts to do something to protect the Natural Health Community will be wasted by communicating an unclear message.
A House Divided Cannot Stand
The NHPPA is hard pressed to find any part of Bill C-51 which is not detrimental to the Natural Health Community. The only part of Bill C-51 the NHPPA supports is the abolition of s. 3 of the Food and Drugs Act. Section 3 is the part which prohibits any claims for a list of conditions found in Schedule A of the Act. However, Health Canada is already aware that s. 3 is unconstitutional and drops s. 3 charges in Court whenever a constitutional challenge is filed. Further CanWest Communications is currently challenging s. 3 in Court and the NHPPA expects s. 3 to be declared unconstitutional.
In short, the NHPPA finds no reason to support Bill C-51 by asking for amendments. Bill C-51 is a dangerous Bill that must be stopped. The Natural Health Community needs to adopt a strategy to ensure Bill C-51 is stopped.
A house divided cannot stand. The Natural Health Community is currently divided in its strategy concerning Bill C-51. Whereas there is general agreement Bill C-51 poses a significant threat to the Natural Health Community, there are currently two competing strategies to address this threat:
- Stop the Bill, and
- Amend the Bill.
It must be understood that both these strategies send different conflicting messages. The Natural Health Community is currently sending mixed messages on the most important issue it has faced in generations.
The NHPPA is very concerned about the failure of the Natural Health Community to send a single unambiguous message on such an important issue.
Right Issue Wrong Strategy
Some are viewing Bill C-51 as an opportunity to get Natural Health Products put into a third category so that they will not remain as a subset of drugs under the Food and Drugs Act. The NHPPA supports the creation of a separate third category and is working on building a consensus to bring this about. The NHPPA does not view the ?amendment? of Bill C-51 as a viable or appropriate strategy to bring about a third category. For example:
- The NHPPA is concerned that it may not be legally possible to make the third category amendment. Bill C-420 serves as an illustration. Bill C-420 sought to move NHPs from the drug category into the food category (as in the United States). While in Committee (i.e. the ?amend? stage) the Bloc Quebecois wanted to amend Bill C-420 to create a third category. Our understanding is that Bill C-420 failed in Committee because this was too significant of an amendment. To accomplish a third category Bill C-420 would have to be withdrawn (i.e. stopped) and a new Bill introduced;
- If a third category can be legally added as an amendment, why would anyone presume the strategy to amend Bill C-51 would succeed? Neither of the two largest parties, the Conservatives or the Liberals support a third category. At first reading there was broad multi-party support for Bill C-51. The NHPPA is concerned that Canadians are being naive in presuming there is a realistic chance to get a third category added to Bill C-51. If the NHPPA is correct with this concern, then the movement to stop Bill C-51 is being undermined by an amend campaign that has virtually no chance of obtaining a third category.
If Bill C-51 is Amended, We Still Have an Amended Bill C-51
In the very unlikely situation that Bill C-51 was amended to add a third category, we are still left with the other provisions of Bill C-51 which will remain the most significant threat to the Natural Health Community in generations.
Health Canada Inspectors will be able to use the powers in Bill C-51 to remove Natural Health Products from the market. It will be no solace to those of us who depend on them to say that at least the extinct products were in a separate third category before they were taken away. Similarly manufacturers, distributors and retailers that have been destroyed and whose directors, officers and managers have been personally bankrupted will probably not be comforted with the knowledge that they were destroyed helping Canadians with products in a separate third category.
Bill C-51 needs to be stopped. After it is stopped the Natural Health Community needs to press for a third category and a reasonable regulatory environment.
17 Jun 2008 - 14:45
Health Canada Inspectors must NOT be given any authority (in this case, dictatorship)
over the PEOPLE’S RIGHT TO MAKE THEIR OWN HEALTH CHOICES.
I thought Canada was a DEMOCRACY run by the PEOPLE, NOT pharmaceutical corporations who are solely interested in PROFITS FROM DRUGS.
Bill C-51 must be stopped. It should never have come to be!!!
18 Jun 2008 - 18:40
—– Original Message —–
From: Marilyn Idle
To: smassinon@theherald.canwest.com ; Circulation@trailtimes.ca ; Dale West ; GF Gazette Editor ; Lynsey Franks ; Sonya Weir ; Tracy Gilchrist
Cc: Grace ; Atamanenko, Alex – M.P. ; Bennett, Carolyn – M.P. ; Brown, Patrick – M.P. ; Davidson, Pat – M.P. ; Fletcher, Steven – M.P. ; Gagnon, Christiane – députée ; Kadis, Susan – M.P. ; Malo, Luc – Député ; Smith, Joy – M.P. ; Stephen Harper ; Temelkovski, Lui – M.P. ; Thibault, Robert – M.P. ; Tilson, David – M.P. ; Tony Clement ; Wasylycia-Leis, Judy – M.P.
Sent: Tuesday, June 17, 2008 11:54 PM
Subject: Letter to the Editor: June 17, 2008 From Marilyn Idle, L.L.B, Counsellor and Mediator, Wellness Advocate
FYI. If you do not wish to receive updates about what effect Bill C51 (which has passed 2nd reading in parliament) could have in future as wrong law, on your greens, herbs and natural foods, (if the government “for your safety” deems to exert its increased state powers) gained under it, – please email this back to me. BBC’d to 150 undisclosed recipients. Cheers, Marilyn Idle
Opinion Letter to the Editor: June 17, 2008 Update Bill C51
Do you like your current freedoms with greens, herbs and natural foods? –(They do not need further state control in Bill C51.
-Marilyn Idle, Christina Lake, BC
The[ir] Facts -on the Bill C51 Government website (www.healthycanadians.ca/pr-rp/billC-51_e.html) and in recent media releases, politically imply “trust me”. …Mr. Clement says, Bill C51 won’t change a thing for natural greens, herbs and foods. (Unless for “safety” he deems it should…). This is the same “trust me” that we are getting from the Harper government that is currently
deeply integrating Canadians and Canada’s military, resources, trade and borders securities with the US (and Mexico) in a “Security and Prosperity Partnership” (SPP) agreement without consent from Canadians.
allowing increasing private and foreign ownership of Canada’s resources and Canadian business, to the tune of 36% of all businesses in Canada now being foreign owned (and loan financing provided these foreign owners -by our Canadian banks!)
aligning with and meeting with President Bush, a man who uses state of the art power, to preemptively start wars or assimilate any country’s resources that they desire to control while curtailing human rights and sovereign freedoms at will.
This is same Harper government wherein Health Minister Tony Clement is now using his powers and soothing persuasions to claim unprecedented and unneeded state powers over Canada’s greens, herbs and natural foods; while he implies at the same time “Don’t-worry- trust-me, its all fine, (all powerful) Bill C51 won’t change a thing for natural herbs, greens and foods. (-Oops, unless I, we, the government, with our new high level laws and state powers in place, in future, ahhh for your safety need to use it or …ahhh, unless we need to catch natural herbs shysters or recall a bad or tainted herb stock).
Unlike the well-protected pharmaceutical-medical industry in which there are 300,000 medical and pharmaceutical accidental hospital deaths a year in North America, (and this figure does not include unreported side-effects and out-of-hospital drug mistakes and deaths) herb shysters would go out of business pretty fast in our already low-risk, safe, open and well-regulated green, herb and natural food market. There are virtually no side effects, and deaths are unheard of from greens, herbs and natural foods -for the last 50 years. The government says, these food items are already well regulated under Natural Health Product Regulations, introduced in 2004 and that nothing would change if Bill C51 becomes law. -Then, why include them in this state policed and powerful law? Common sense says, yes, drugs do belong in the updated highly-controlling federal Food and Drug Act, but greens, herbs and natural foods, to be called “therapeutic products” (in a section next to “sick-care” products, expensive pharmaceuticals, vaccines, surgeries and medical device implants organ, tissue and cells), do not.
Bill C51 as does not just innocently, for your safety and access, update a 50 year old Food and Drug legislation and “not change a thing legally with regard to greens, herbs and natural foods” …But don’t worry Tony’s website soothes -we won’t actually use our Bill C51 increased federal powers (if it becomes law) over your greens, herbs and foods (unless for your safety we “deem” we have to). Just as Stephan Harper has deemed he must use his state powers to hand over more and more of Canada’s resources and businesses to private and foreign ownership and while he uses his state powers to wrongly deeply integrate Canada with Bush’s (severely out-of-balanced, non-ending war-stressed, near bankrupt) USA, .
How could Bill C51 and these kinds of bad laws and attempts to stealthily increase state powers (in this case unnecessarily over low-risk safe greens, herbs and natural foods) be deemed necessary? This is wrong. What does this government know about wellness? The unnecessary inclusion of greens, herbs and natural foods in powerful and encroaching Bill C51 within the updated Federal Food and Drug Act is not benign or helpful to Canadians and their greens, herbs and natural foods. It is open-ended and overly-controlling and when the government decides it may wish to increase or exert those legal controls over the herb and natural foods market, it can and will. Bill C51 burdens Canadian’s by unnecessarily giving the state more power to increase controls, bureaucracy, tax-expensive licensing and policing when they deem it necessary for your safety. (Reduce liberties and freedoms when “they” deem in necessary for your safety)
Do we need stronger laws for greens, herbs and natural foods? No. Do the research. There is no need or justifiable weight of evidence at all. It is my opinion that Bill C51 will be used (despite what Health Minister Tony Clement and the government website says in his political “trust-me” language which promises “not to use” the powers, if Bill C51 becomes law. This law would cause expensive increases in costs to Canadian small and medium sized (greens, herbs and natural food) businesses as well as to your and my and Canadian family’s budgets. It is my opinion that you will see a 60% – 75% loss of access to many of the safe natural herbs that are deemed by the power of Bill C51 (deemed by who and for who’s benefit?) to be unsafe or “high risk”. If Bill C51 passes into law, I believe a 60% (or more) increase in costs will occur for your greens, herbs and natural foods induced by Bill C51’s rigorous and drug-like testing and controls in less than 5 years.
It is my opinion that If any legislative changes are needed for greens, herbs and natural foods it is to reduce onerous restrictions; to perhaps make them provincial and place them in a gentle category of their own, reflecting their low-risk, already well-regulated and safe nature. It is common sense to celebrate the honourable growers, processors, herbalists, practitioners and sellers for their 50 years of affordable and open relationships with Canadians; not to obstruct and further burden and control them by including low-risk, already safe and affordable greens, herbs and natural foods as “therapeutic products” in open-ended, powerful, wellness-empowerment threatening, unneeded, restricting and control laws like Bill C51, within the Food and Drug Act. They don’t belong there.
Marilyn Idle L.L.B
Counsellor and Mediator
Wellness Advocate
19 Jun 2008 - 13:25
What can a US citizen do to stop Bill C-51. How corrupt is the Canadian governmant?
02 Jul 2008 - 14:10
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