Conservatives are trying to loosen regulations on natural health products

OTTAWA — A Conservative MP wants Parliament to undo changes made by the Liberals last year that brought natural health products under the same regulations as pharmaceuticals.

The new rules mean Health Canada can demand that stores pull products such as supplements and homeopathic medicines off their shelves if they are found to be a health risk, and impose bigger fines on companies that don’t comply with regulations.

Alberta Conservative MP Blaine Calkins is seeking to reverse the changes entirely in a private member’s bill that’s being studied by the House of Commons health committee.

He says the changes didn’t get proper scrutiny when they came into law because the Liberals put them in a big budget bill, and he thinks they increase costs for consumers and stifle innovation.

Calkins’ bill made it through second reading with support from both the NDP and the Bloc Québécois.

Health Minister Mark Holland told the committee last week that reversing the changes is “cuckoo bananas” and will put the health of Canadian consumers at risk.

“We have a duty of care, a duty of care that anything that is ingested or used by Canadians, that we ensure that it’s safe and that it’s not going to make them sick,” Holland said on Oct. 29. “This bill would jeopardize that.”

Calkins said in an recent interview that he doesn’t remember anyone debating these specific clauses in the budget bill, and said it was “underhanded” and “sneaky” for the government to put the changes into a budget.

“The industry didn’t even know the changes had happened until after the bill had already passed and gone through the Senate,” he said.

He said if the Liberals thought there were problems they should have consulted with the industry broadly before making any changes.

NDP House leader Peter Julian said his party saw it as unacceptable for the government to change the laws using an omnibus bill. His spokeswoman said Friday that the NDP is continuing to study the issue and may make amendments to Calkins’ bill at the committee.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.

David Cummings, The Canadian Press