By Natural Health Product Protection Association

The proposed 2024 Budget Bill includes amendments that grant Health Canada unprecedented regulatory authority over off-label uses of drugs and natural health products—significantly affecting medical professionals’ and natural health practitioners’ ability to provide effective healthcare, and our ability as members of the public to access these vital treatment options.

To be clear, these are proposed changes to the law. This Budget Bill has not become law yet—which gives us time! It’s crucial to act now to oppose these sections before they become law, as repealing them after is much more challenging.

Under the proposed changes, Health Canada would gain the power to:

• Restrict off-label use of drugs, including natural health products, by medical doctors, health care professionals, natural health practitioners, and even veterinarians.
• Grant exemptions for food and drugs from crucial safety regulations designed to protect against fraud, adulteration, and unsanitary conditions.
• Allow exemptions for food and drugs from safety laws based on selective “parts” of foreign documents.

Just like in 2023, Health Canada is attempting to slip these substantial revisions to the Food and Drugs Act into a Budget Bill, bypassing scrutiny from the Standing Committee on Health. Instead, Budget Bills are reviewed by the Standing Committee on Finance, who lack expertise in matters of Food and Drug law and human health.

It is unacceptable for non-budgetary changes to be buried within budget bills. 

We urge you to read Shawn Buckley’s latest Discussion Paper, Alarm Bells in Health Policy: Hidden Changes in Canada’s 2024 Budget.¹

Health Canada is persistent—and so are we! This is the time to take action! 

Join our electronic letter campaign urging MPs to remove these harmful sections from Bill C-69 before they become law!

Why is this important? Budget bills are lengthy, and MPs may not catch every detail. Many MPs might not even be aware of these proposed changes, just like those that were slipped into the 2023 Budget Bill (C-47). It’s up to us to educate them now so they can oppose these additions and send the bill back to the drawing board before it becomes law.

Follow the link to automatically send a pre-written electronic letter to your MP.² And keep going! We have multiple letters available, so you can send a letter on a weekly basis to keep the pressure on.

Mail a physical letter—or two, or three!

Write to educate your MP on Health Canada’s inappropriate additions (Division 31) to the 2024 Budget Bill, Bill C-69!

Why does paper mail matter? 

It’s impossible for MPs and their staff to ignore stacks of paper piling up on their desks, making this method more effective than emails.

Here’s how you can participate: 

1. Print one of our pre-written letters from our website or write your own
2. Locate your MP’s constituency office on ourcommons.ca
3. Mail the letter to your MP’s constituency office
4. Encouraged (optional): Attach a copy of Shawn Buckley’s latest Discussion Paper, which amplifies the weight (literally and figuratively)

We’ve prepared the resources to support you in your preferred method for sending a physical letter to your Member of Parliament.

1. nhppa.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/NHPPA-The-Hidden-Changes-Discussion-Paper.pdf
2. oneclickpolitics.global.ssl.fastly.net/messages/edit?promo_id=22678

Help us help you! Natural Health Product Protection Association | nhppa.org
Dedicated to protecting Canadians’ access to natural health products.