Many HANS members have been following the work of constitutional lawyer Shawn Buckley, of the Natural Health Product Protection Association (NHPPA), and have expressed concerns about the impact Bill C36 would have on their way of life.

HANS, accordingly, requested permission to address the Standing Committee on Health with those concerns in a letter sent October 26. We felt that there would be time for those of us in the natural health world to have input, since the committee was scheduled to go through the bill clause by clause―historically a time-consuming process.

What happened instead?
The Standing Committee on Health met on October 26th for precisely 15 minutes, then voted in favour of Bill C36 passing to the next stage, namely third reading. Government seems to be in a hurry to pass what it considers critical legislation to propel Canada into the global environment.

Proponents of natural health have not been heard, but rather, have been informed that their concerns are a myth. In what looks like a response to Shawn Buckley's article in the Hill Times (Ottawa) newspaper entitled "Turning safety on its head: Is our Consumer Product Safety Act safe?", MPs have received a "Myth Sheet" that is intended to alleviate your concerns.

Buckley doesn't see it that way at all and has scheduled lectures across Canada in the next few months. We're counting on you to attend because you care about Canada and your health, and want to ensure that what ends up happening is in the best interests of Canadians. Watch for the lecture dates on upcoming HANS e-News communications or visit http://www.nhppa.org.

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