DELIVER THE CHARTER OF HEALTH FREEDOM INTO THE HANDS OF EVERY SINGLE MP BEFORE THE END OF MAY
Campaign launched May 21 2013 and closed May 31/13
Charter to 308 MPs Post-Campaign Report
Copies of letters citizens received as responses from their MPs here.
Charter to 308 MPs Step 2: Launched April 4 2014 and closed June 30 2014
WHEN TO ACT
In order to make an impact we need every MP to hear about the Charter, from multiple sources, at the same time.
It is important that you act this month, before the end of May 2013 when this campaign closes.
Flood every constituency office with facts about the Charter of Health Freedom, in a form they can’t ignore.
THE ACTION
We need at least one person from each of the 308 ridings to deliver our new Charter of Health Freedom package to their MP.
WHY DO THIS NOW?
This is a critical time for the Charter Of Health Freedom. We are nearing a landmark 96,000 signatures on the petition. This is no small feat. Canadian history will show you how our petition stacks up. This will make it the largest federal petition in the last 15 years.
We want to identify an MP to present this petition in support of the Charter to the House of Commons. To give all MPs an opportunity to be part of this historic public message, they need to fully understand the issues.
It is also important to capitalize on recent press coverage of the regulation of NHPs. You can read the current debates and conversations here.
As mainstream media take notice be certain that MPs will be watching.
WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?
We are launching this important campaign this month because two years ago in May, your MP gained their seat. At that time we asked you to deliver our MP Package to each candidate on the cusp of Election Day, May 2nd 2011.
They are now half way through their term. If you have highlighted the Charter of Health Freedom to your MP in the past, we need you to do it again now. The issues have not gone away, the crisis is deepening.
We know that you’re busy and your time is valuable, but so are your rights. Please take time this month, along with everyone else across the country, to make a difference.
WHAT IS THE CHARTER OF HEALTH FREEDOM?
The Charter of Health Freedom is proposed legislation in response to the health consequences of losing natural health products (NHPs). The product losses are an inevitable result of the current regulations:
“Despite the fact that there have been zero recorded deaths from consumption of vitamins, minerals, enzymes, herbal remedies, or amino acid supplements, Health Canada continues a very aggressive approach to regulating NHPs, treating them as if they were the most toxic of all substances on the open market. At the same time, it conspicuously ignores the carnage created by prescription drugs and vaccines.”
– Dr. Zoltan P. Rona, MD, M.Sc., Vitality Magazine, March 2013
The Charter would protect access to NHPs and traditional medicines by creating a separate legal category for them, separate from the Food and Drugs Act. The Charter would regulate for fraud, adulteration and misrepresentation, while deeming NHPs and traditional medicines to be safe unless there is evidence of harm. This is the reasonable and effective assumption underpinning natural product regulation in the United States.
In short, the Charter is A Law For Natural Health Products.
FIND YOUR MP
- Enter your postal code here to find out which riding you are in, and identify your MP.
- Take note of their email address and constituency office address.
Each MP should receive:
- a copy of the full Charter of Heath Freedom (English/French)
- a cover letter (English/French)
- the NHPPA Charter Summary (English only)
- at least one explanatory article (English only)
These can be printed in black and white, which might cost you a little in paper and ink. Please consider this few dollars a small price to pay for your health freedom.
PERSONALIZE THE COVER LETTER
If every letter written is different, no-one can accuse you and your fellow activists of being computer-generated. You have 3 options:
- Hand write or type your own cover letter. Draw from the points in our cover letter or explanatory articles.
- Use our cover letter and add your own thoughts on the reverse.
If you are not sure how to personalize your letter, here are some suggestions:
- Address your own use of NHPs, how did they help you?
- Have you lost a product and what are the health consequences for you?
- Has someone you know suffered with a product loss?
- Do you now shop for NHPs over the border? What effect is that having for your local health store?
- Are you concerned about the impact on your health of losing a product you can still obtain?
- Has a product you rely on been reformulated to a less therapeutic dosage? Do you have to take a greater quantity now? How is that affecting your budget?
- Are you concerned for your business, or the closing of your favourite store? Has someone you know lost their livelihood?
DELIVER YOUR PACKAGE
Depending on how far you live from your MP`s office, there are 3 delivery methods:
- Hand deliver: there is nothing more powerful than a constituent physically handing over information for their MP in person.
- Mail: Print the package at minimal expense in black and white, and mail to your local constituency office.
- Email: Email the package to your MP. This is the fastest and most convenient way, but please consider mailing it as well because emails are easy to ignore.
Stamps on envelopes to MPs?
Yes.
You can write your MP in Ottawa free, but standard postage charges apply for mail that goes to their constituency office.
We have had campaigns in the past to write to Ottawa, and we have another coming up soon but on this occasion we think there is more impact in packages arriving in local constituency offices. The postage for a package containing the full Charter plus covering information will be approximately $2 plus applicable taxes in your Province.
Please contribute the two bucks in postage + your time to print and prepare the package to inconvenience your local party workers with the truth. Of course, there is no reason not to run off an additional set of copies and mail a duplicate package to Ottawa for nothing!
PROVIDE PROOF OF DELIVERY
Our goal is to have at least one person in each riding deliver this package!
To personalize this campaign so that we can see our community working together, please consider taking a picture of yourself delivering the package. By posting your picture and riding (your personal information such as your name will not be included) on our website, we will be able to build a community of action around this campaign.
- We would love to see you in the picture, but if you would rather not do this, get creative. Take a picture of your hand passing the package to the office receptionist, a picture of the package left outside their office door, a picture of your hand sliding it into their mail box, or even a picture of you in front of your computer about to click send. Email this picture (one photo per person please) to info@nhppa.org.
- Hand delivery: A picture of you handing your package to someone at the constituency office, putting it in their mail box, or leaving it by their door. Email this picture (one photo per person please) to info@nhppa.org.
- Mail: A picture of you putting the package in a letter box on your street corner, the package on your desk before you send it, writing out your MPs address, or putting stamps on it! Email this picture (one photo per person please) to info@nhppa.org.
- Forward: The email that you send to your MP to info@nhppa.org.
When you email your picture to us, please let us know if we are able to use it on our website and social media. We can post without your name, but would certainly like to have a good representation of citizens’ actions, coast to coast.
EVERY PHOTOGRAPH OR EMAIL WE RECEIVE CONFIRMING DELIVERY WILL ENTER A DRAW FOR ONE OF OUR NEW T-SHIRTS!
Winners will be announced at the end of the campaign on the NHPPAs Facebook page.
We would like to see a minimum of one package delivered in each riding, but the more packages each MP receives, the greater the impact on that individual.
MPs react to issues that disrupt their routine, one Charter information package may not do that but too many to fit in the mail box will!
Constituents vote…that has power!
FOLLOW THE CAMPAIGN’S PROGRESS
As we receive notifications of deliveries to MPs we’ll be keeping track of them on our Charter to 308 Riding Chart.
You can also keep track of progress across the country on Facebook, where we’ll be posting news, and your photos regularly. Share your photo to encourage friends and family to make a difference too.
Let’s leave no-one in government in any doubt that their future depends on the Charter of Health Freedom.
