Shawn Buckley

Promoting the Charter of Health Freedom found at www.charterofhealthfreedom.org. We are seeking to have the Government introduce and pass the Charter of Health Freedom as an Act of Parliament. Natural Health Product Regulations - We are seeking to have these Regulations suspended pending a review of their effect. We are seeking to have the evidence requirements for licensing of natural health products relaxed to better reflect the low risk profile of natural health products and the absence of specific claim evidence. We are also seeking to have an "evidence claim exemption" so that product licenses on safe products do not continue to be refused solely because of issues relating to claim evidence. Seeking for the first time to make positive health outcomes the primary goal of drug regulation. The regulation of drugs for serious health conditions are structured to only permit Canadians to be legally treated with novel chemicals that had patents when they were licensed by Health Canada. This is why the only legal treatments for serious health conditions like cancer, heart disease, mental health, and arthritis are novel chemicals. This reveals the purpose of Canada's drug regulations to be the protection of intellectual property rights. Abolishing the application of the drug model to natural health products. The drug model puts Canadians into the situation where it is only legal to ingest something to prevent or to treat an illness that Health Canada has approved of. In the area of natural health products this criminalizes treatments like ginger tea unless extensive drug regulations are complied with. This is legal-philosophical ground Canadians are not consenting to be on. COST RECOVERY on Natural Health Products. The NHPPA is opposed to any cost recovery on natural health products. SELF-CARE Framework. We are opposed to Health Canada's Self-Care Framework which aims to harmonize the regulation of natural health products with over-the-counter-chemical drugs. The Self-Care Framework seeks to: (1) impose over time the exact fees that are charged to the chemical drug companies for product and site licensing; (2) impose on natural health products the same penalties and Health Canada powers that apply to chemical drugs; (3) impose upon natural health products the chemical drug standards for proving safety and efficacy. This will remove the use of traditional use evidence to prove efficacy. This will remove the use of traditional use evidence for many safety claims; (4) impose on natural health products a dramatically higher regulatory burden. We are supporting Bill C-398 which would move natural health products out of the therapeutic drug category in the Food and Drugs Act.