Natural Health Practitioners
YOUR PROFESSION IS AT A CROSSROADS
HELP US HELP YOU
You Play A Vital Role
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You play a vital role in keeping Canadians healthy, and it’s essential that you can continue to do so, without interruption. We urgently need your support to protect the natural health industry, including your profession, in the face of Health Canada’s Self-Care Framework and Cost Recovery initiatives.
By uniting with the NHPPA and joining our practitioner network, you’re not just safeguarding the access to natural health products that your clients or patients value – you’re preserving your practice!
Your influence can help repeal restrictive legislation, halt exorbitant fees, and maintain fair product regulation. Empower yourself and your community—join NHPPA’s practitioner network to help ensure your continued ability to practice in Canada!
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What is the Self-Care Framework?
The Self-care Framework is a multi-step initiative set into motion by Health Canada in 2017 with an end goal of harmonizing our natural health product regulations with the pharmaceutical model. If achieved, this will result in the loss of countless natural health products and increase prices on products that remain.
Cost Recovery is being imposed on the natural product industry. Businesses will be charged significant annual fees to license and manufacture their products. This will result in the loss of many products and Canadian businesses who cannot afford these fees. The fees are to come into effect on April 1 2025.
Vanessa’s Law now applies to natural health products, resulting from definition changes in the annual budget bill (Bill C-47), passed on June 22 2023. Vanessa’s Law empowers Health Canada to order recalls, impose tougher penalties, and require companies to change labels or run expensive tests at their whim. It’s important to note that Vanessa’s Law was designed for pharmaceutical drugs and was never intended to apply to natural health products.
Under Vanessa’s Law, Health Canada now has the power to levy fines up to $5,000,000 per day that you are found to be in offence. Previously, the fine for noncompliance was $5000 per offence. A $5,000,000 penalty is appropriate for the pharmaceutical industry, but will only serve to destroy natural product companies and silence retaliation.
Still to come in the Self-care Framework, Health Canada intends to:
- Restrict natural product claims to minor conditions for which a person would not seek the advice of a practitioner licensed by a province (aka. YOU!)
- Impose the chemical drug standards of evidence onto natural products
- Stop allowing traditional use evidence to support treatment claims and license natural products
How does the Self-care Framework affect practitioners?
- Reduced selection of natural health products in Canada. Our highly innovative multi-ingredient products are especially at risk.
- Higher prices on the remaining natural health products will reduce the number of potential clients who can afford to access your services and follow through with your recommendations.
- Reduced product selection and high prices will limit the tools you have available to support your client.
- Increased Health Canada censorship and fear of $5,000,000 /day fines will prevent truthful advertising by manufacturers and natural health retailers by limiting discussion to the label-approved claims of a product. This will interfere with your ability to learn about the other uses of products.
- As a practitioner, if you sell products in your clinic or through an online dispensary you will also be limited to discussing the label-approved claims of those products in your public marketing efforts.
What are NHPPA's campaign goals?
- Repeal sections 500-504 of Bill C-47
- Stop Cost Recovery on natural health product businesses
- Stop the Self-care Framework
- Regulate natural health products as foods, not drugs.
- Enact the Charter of Health Freedom to ensure fair regulations of natural health products
Health Canada can't really limit my ability to practice, can they?
They can. And they are.
Learn how Health Canada’s initiatives are threatening your livelihood and your ability to support your clients and patients.
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Stricter regulations and new fees
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Health Canada is imposing stricter regulations and new fees on natural health product (NHP) manufacturers which will increase prices and cause the loss of products because manufacturers will be unable or unwilling to afford licensing.
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Removing the right to use traditional use evidence
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If NHPs are unable to rely on traditional use evidence in the licensing process, we will lose products. For example, “ginger is traditionally used to treat nausea” would no longer be an acceptable label claim under Health Canada’s Self-Care Framework.
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Restricting NHPs to over the counter uses
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Under Health Canada’s Self-Care Framework, label claims for NHPs are restricted to conditions for which you would not seek the advice of a health care practitioner licensed by the province. That means NHPs could no longer be licensed for the very ailments you currently support your clients and patients to manage naturally.
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Increased Health Canada censorship will prevent truthful advertising
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Manufacturers and natural health product retailers will be limited to communicating product uses based on the approved label claims. This will interfere with your ability to learn about the other uses of natural health products.
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New $5,000,000 a day fines
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These fines can be imposed for violating the laws on NHPs (such as communicating product uses outside of the label claims). Prior to June 22, 2023, the maximum fine you faced for violating the laws on NHPs was $5,000. Now it is $5,000,000 a day. These fines apply to all directors and employees within NHP businesses, whereas they used to only apply to corporations. How could any of us withstand $5,000,000 per day fines?
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Are You Ready To Join NHPPA’s Practitioner Network & Use Your Influence To Help Protect The Natural Health Industry?
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Could your practice survive?
Decreased selection of natural health products available in Canada, including reduced access to innovative multi-ingredient products.
Restricted to discussing the label-approved claims of natural health products in your public marketing efforts, or else face fines up to $5,000,000 per day.
Increased prices on remaining natural health products, reducing your potential client base as more products become financially out of reach.
Join Our Practitioner Network
We invite you to use your voice and influence to champion NHPPA’s goals and empower your community to get involved in this important movement.
We have created a number of materials for you to share with your community that will spread awareness and provide your clients with easy ways to take action. There are a few downloadable documents available below, and when you fill out this form we will send you a comprehensive Practitioner Action Kit with exclusive materials including pre-written email newsletters for your community, social media content to educate and inspire action, along with print and digital assets to display in your office or clinic.
Thank you for taking action.
By joining our retailer network, you will make a significant impact at this critical time.
