SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 304

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
April 29, 2024 11:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 304 - Apr/29/24
Mr. Brad Vis (Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, CPC)
  • Apr/29/24 3:33:45 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Speaker, I rise to present a petition. Last spring the government made legislative changes to allow Health Canada to regulate natural health supplements the same as therapeutic synthetic drugs, which will mean substantive new fees on the import, manufacturing and sale of things like vitamins, protein powders and even fluoride-free toothpaste. Constituents in my riding who rely on natural health products daily are concerned that these changes will result in the products they use being removed from Canadian store shelves. They are calling on the government to stop these changes and to work with the industry on issues such as labelling and fees. The petitioners are asking to save our supplements.
113 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Context: House Hansard - 304 - Apr/29/24
Mr. Blaine Calkins
  • Apr/29/24 7:34:22 p.m.
  • Watch
Madam Speaker, my friend and colleague from Peterborough—Kawartha is exactly right. Generally speaking, when we see something being changed in a manner like this, we ask, “Who benefits?” Who benefits from this? Health Canada would actually have the ability to charge whatever fees it wanted in order to regulate the industry. Can members imagine the power to actually generate revenue in such a way? Who knows what pressures they are getting from other outside actors. Lots of people have speculated about who they think is putting pressure on Health Canada to do this. As I outlined in my speech, Health Canada has lots of power. If it needs a little more resources to do inspections post the products' getting to the shelf, or if they need a little more help at the border, those are reasonable conversations we could have. This industry is $3 billion a year in Canada. This is how much Canadians rely on these products for their own health. It is the health care prevention that keeps people out of the hospital and out of our health care system. This is the beauty of it. It is something that gives people the ability to make personal health choices. They have the freedom to make those choices for themselves. If Health Canada needs more money to do something, this industry generates $150 million in GST revenue every year. There are plenty of resources if they need a few more people to do something. They can simply go talk to the finance minister, rather than taking the underhanded approach of going—
267 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border