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By Derek Craddock

BILL C-47

Sask. business owner among those opposed to potential changes for natural health products

Jul 4, 2023 | 5:00 PM

Those in the natural health food industry are gravely concerned over proposed changes they said could shutter many businesses.

As part of Bill C-47 which looks to amend legislation laid out in the 2023 Budget, the federal government is looking to amend the Protecting Canadians from Unsafe Drugs Act to have hospitals report adverse reactions from natural remedies and supplements.

Currently, pharmaceutical drugs are monitored under this legislation, known as Vanessa’s Law. The Act was passed in 2014 in memory of Vanessa Young, the daughter of then-Conservative MP Terence Young. Vanessa died from an adverse effect of medication in March 2000.

Vanessa’s Law would also let Health Canada demand that manufacturers make changes to their labels and recall unsafe products.

The bill has already passed third reading in the Senate, meaning it could become law later this month.

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While proponents of the changes to Vanessa’s Law say it is needed, others in the health food industry believe it will cause irreversible harm.

Janine Favreau owns Nutter’s Everyday Naturals in Prince Albert. She said, like many in the industry, she was blindsided by the news, adding the public is being left in the dark.

“It’s taken place without the public knowing,” she said. “They’re projecting that four out of five products will no longer be available on the shelf and if they are, they are going to be at such a high price that you or I are not going to be able to afford them.”

That sentiment is also being felt by the Canadian Health Food Association (CFHA) which has launched a campaign called Save Our Supplements, to encourage the government to stop its proposed changes to Vanessa’s Law.

“There was nothing that would have indicated to industry that it was imminent,” said President of the CFHA Aaron Skelton. “The industry and the association were both caught off guard when we saw that included in the budget.”

The decision to include natural products hasn’t been properly studied or debated, Skelton said and has instead been tucked into an omnibus budget bill.

“We have seen no consultation efforts to persuade us that the regulatory powers conferred in Vanessa’s Law would be appropriate for the lowest-risk products, such as natural health products,” he said.

Skelton argued manufacturers are already responsible for reporting any ill effects associated with their products, and Health Canada already has the power to stop sales and seize products.

But Patients for Patient Safety Canada says there is little data to help Health Canada hold companies accountable.

“We have no recourse,” said Katharina Kovacs Burns, co-chair of the volunteer patient advocacy organization.

“There’s no reporting on side effects, there’s no follow-up, there’s no nothing for natural health products to this point — not the same way that there is with the other prescriptive drugs or other therapeutic products that are much more regulated,” she said.

Kovacs Burns said her group was not consulted on the legislative change either.

Favreau is worried that if the legislation passes, it could mean greater costs for manufacturers, which could mean higher prices at stores like Nutter’s and some businesses shutting down.

“The bottom line is imposing new fees on the natural health supplement manufacturers will drive many manufacturers, small businesses and health care practitioners out of business,” she said adding it could also impact alternative medical options like naturopaths.

However, Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said the changes are necessary to make sure all health products are safe for consumption.

“The objective is to make sure that all health products, different types and different formulations, are treated the same way, so Health Canada has the ability, if needed, to intervene in circumstances in which the health and safety of Canadians at stake,” the minister said at a press conference in Sudbury in May.

While natural health products are considered lower risk than some prescription drugs, the Canadian Pharmacists Association has repeatedly tried to reinforce that there is still some risk in using them.

Two examples quoted by the Association stated that Ginseng has been linked with some cases of increased blood pressure and ginkgo biloba which has resulted in cases of bleeding among elderly people.

Favreau however, disagrees with the stats, stating more and more people are turning to naturopathic products ts as they feel the health care system is letting them down. She said many Canadians can’t see their family physician which is pushing them to alternative medicine.

She hopes news of the changes spreads and that more people show their opposition to the government.

“We are going to have to start speaking up because this is only the beginning,” Favreau said.

According to an Auditor General’s report in 2021, some natural health products can cause negative effects when combined with other medications or when not used as directed, adding there have been cases of people experiencing serious and unexpected adverse reactions to authorized and unauthorized natural health products.

According to the advocacy group Adverse Drug Reactions Canada, there are an estimated 200,000 severe adverse drug reactions in the country each year, killing between 10,000 to 22,000 Canadians, making it the fourth leading cause of death in Canada as of 2021.

–With files from The Canadian Press