"Corruptive Disorder Syndrome"….

is running rampant at Health Canada and the Health Protection Branch. The only known cure for this malignant disease is an immediate, independent, fully public, investigation of Health Canada and the Health Protection Branch.

The deliberate misapplication of the Food and Drugs Act is placing pharmaceutical profits before lives. This is unlawful! It is the mandated duty of the Health Minister to maintain and improve the health of Canadians and to ensure that HPB upholds the Food and Drugs Act, which is intended, "to protect the public from health hazards and fraud in the sale and use of food, drugs, cosmetics and devices." Failure to uphold the Act and to apply it evenly and fairly in the interest of the public constitutes criminal negligence.

The Canadian people have been betrayed! Under the guise of protecting us, we have been deliberately misinformed, publicly lied to and denied access to, beneficial health products. From Allan Rock's so called moratorium on regulations, to the final report from his Advisory Panel on Natural Health Products, we have witnessed deception from committee clerks to senior officials of the HPB. Public documents exist that prove that HPB officials knowingly misled the Standing Committee on Health as to the existence of the Natural Products Division that was closed down in 1991. If natural products were so harmful to the public, why would they close down a "world class" lab and then six years later demand stricter regulations?

The pharmaceutical giants are determined to monopolize the natural products industry by eliminating the competition with standardization patents and ever increasing regulations, and fees. With profits that are double what the banks make, not only are they able to manipulate the federal regulators, they have also been able to persuade the provincial regulators to harmonize drug-scheduling laws across Canada.

While citizens have been distracted battling the illegal actions of the HPB, the National Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities (NAPRA) has been quietly coordinating and promoting the harmonization of the conditions of sale of drugs throughout Canada. What that means is, any nonprescription products assigned a Drug Identification Numbers (DIN) could only be sold through pharmacies.

In a recent letter to a health food store manager, the College of Pharmacists of B.C. announced that they were authorized by the provincial government to administer and enforce the Pharmacists, Pharmacy Operations and Drug Scheduling Act and its accompanying Drug Schedules. How does a self-regulating industry, acquire authorization to enforce it's own rules and regulations on another industry, which it competes with? Just another example, of the power that the pharmaceutical industry wields.

Pro-regulators from industry and the Advisory Panel are urging everyone to write to the Health Minister, protesting the Standing Committee's decision to circulate a copy of the Federal Advisory Panel on Natural Health Products Final Report. After reviewing the report, it is easy to see why they do not want it circulated.

Example #1. Paragraph 5 in the Executive Summary, states that, "the panel calls for a new regulatory category for Natural Health Products (NHPs), separate and distinct from both foods and pharmaceuticals." Yet on closer examination you discover that with a simple name change they try to confuse the uninformed and create the illusion that NHPs would be regulated in their own separate category. The truth is that Natural Health Products would become a sub-category of "Therapeutic Products in Dosage Form", which is the new name for the "Drug" category.

Example #2. NHPs are defined by the Panel as, "substances or combinations of substances consisting of molecules and elements found in nature, and homeopathic preparations, sold in dosage form for the purpose of maintaining or improving health and treating or preventing diseases/conditions. Examples include, but are not limited to, homeopathic preparations, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, co-enzymes, co-factors, herbs or botanicals, animal source substances, and a variety of molecules extracted from natural substances such as amino acids, polysaccharides, peptides, naturally occurring hormones and precursors as well as naturally occurring molecules synthesized by chemical or biological means." Just another example of the pharmaceutical manipulation to deliberately confuse people by blurring the lines between drugs and natural products.

Example #3. Under Section 10.2 Establishment Licensing, the report states, "The Advisory Panel supports the concept that all manufacturers, packagers, importers and distributors selling Natural Health Products to Canadians in Canada should hold a valid establishment license. The issuance of such a license is contingent on compliance with Good Manufacturing Practice requirements." It is interesting to note that members of the Canadian Coalition and the Advisory Panel, were originally opposed to establishment-licensing fees and now they are endorsing them.

Example #4. Under Section 10.4 Professional Intervention, the report states, "the panel believes this proposed regulatory framework, founded on the management of risk, must take full advantage of the expertise of professionals. For example, the regulations may specify that products of lower safety may only be available under the care of a practitioner." Under Section 7.1 Safety Categories, it states that, "Certain products would be categorized as lower safety based on a list of factors." The list of determining factors is extremely ambiguous and only creates an opportunity for abuse. Why should we have to have professional intervention thrust upon us for products that have been used safely for centuries?

" Lower Safety" replaces the term "high risk", normally associated with pharmaceutical drugs, and is just another attempt to blur the lines between high-risk chemical drugs and low risk natural products.

We believe that until we have a full public investigation of the Health Protection Branch by an independent body, any new approaches to regulations will not protect the public from unconscionable decisions, which place profits above lives. According to former senior HPB official, Dr. Michele Brill-Edwards, it is absolutely dangerous to make any changes to the Food & Drug Act, until such time as the bureaucrats within the Health Protection Branch, responsible for the present abuses suffered by the citizens of Canada, are exposed and held accountable.

Section 4 of the Food & Drug Act makes it an offense to sell any food that is poisonous, harmful, adulterated, unfit for human consumption or prepared under unsanitary conditions.

Section 5 of the Food & Drug Act makes it an offense to label, package, process, sell or advertise any food in a manner that is false, misleading or deceptive.

It is obvious that we do not need another regulatory body or more regulations. We just need proper enforcement of the existing ones!

Consumer education and massive action are essential to put a stop to the illegal actions of the Health Protection Branch. We must work together to understand the key issues and educate everyone around us. It is important that we keep the pressure up on our elected officials. Take the time to meet and educate them with the facts. Tell them what we, the Canadian people want. We must keep the letters flowing. Make sure that every letter you write is copied and sent to as many media representatives as possible as well as the opposition members. Let's flood everybody's desks.

Voice your opinion on radio talk shows. Circulate information to your friends, family and co-workers.

THE COMMITTEE REPORT IS DUE IN OCTOBER! WE MUST ACT FAST TO OPPOSE THE AGENDA OF REMOVING OUR NATURAL SUPPLEMENTS OUT OF THE FOOD CATEGORY!

WHERE ARE THE DEAD BODIES?

Health Canada can not produce any evidence of irreparable harm caused by natural vitamins, minerals, herbs or other dietary supplements. Who are their actions really protecting?

When you write your letters make sure to include all of the underlined points:

· Section 4 & 5 of the current Food & Drug Act assures the public plenty of protection from any possible harm from foods or food supplements, when properly enforced.

· Tell them to do their job and re-open the labs and start random testing.

· Ask why the Canadian citizens were not publicly notified about the opportunity to make a submission to the Standing Committee on Health?

· How can they expect Canadian citizens to accept any report from the Standing Committee on Health, when public records show, that they have been deliberately misled, by senior officials of the Health Protection Branch? It is the Committee's duty to investigate the HPB immediately.

· How can we be expected to believe anything the Health Minister says, when the actions of the HPB totally contradict his promises to the public.

· Tell them we will not accept the recommendations of any government appointed pro-regulation "expert advisory panel" for a problem that does not exist.

· Tell them we will not accept regulating natural supplements in a drug category, third category, or any other mechanism they try to slide by us.

· Demand to have our vitamins, minerals, herbs, botanicals, homeopathic and dietary supplements that have already been reclassified or banned without justification, promptly returned to the food category where they belong. Foods are not Drugs!

· Ask them to justify imposing stricter regulations on harmless herbs and dietary supplements while closing down the public testing labs, thereby relying on the large manufacturers who are lobbying for more regulations, to regulate themselves. (It sounds a bit like the fox guarding the chicken coop.)

· Demand a full public investigation of the HPB and the abuses the Canadian public has suffered due to their lax regulation of lethal drugs, mercury dental amalgams, silicone breast implants, and poisoned blood, as compared to the extreme over regulation of safe and natural foods and food supplements.

Make sure you cc: your letter to as many people on the Committee as possible. At least make sure to send it to the people with the ** beside their name.

No postage is required to send mail to the Standing Committee on Health. Make sure to include "House of Commons K1A 0A6" with the members name on the envelope.

Do not forget about your MLA's, we need to prevent NAPRA's agenda from becoming a reality. It is crucial to serve notice on the provincial governments now. Let them know that we are not going to permit our natural health products to be regulated by pharmacists.

You can call Elections Canada at 1-800-463-6868 or Reference Canada at 1-800-667-3355 to obtain the names and telephone numbers of your Federal MPs. They will also provide you with the telephone numbers to the Provincial Chief Electoral offices where you can obtain the names and numbers of your Provincial MLAs.

WE MUST USE OUR VOICES OR LOSE OUR CHOICES!

For more information, please contact Citizens' Voice for Health Rights

Phone (604) 685-7835 or Fax (604) 793-9017

Visit our web site at www.citizensvoice.org