Chelsie Wolff of Horizon Herbs is concerned new federal legislation will negatively impact the health of Canadians.
The owner of a Fort Macleod business is urging people to fight federal government legislation that will restrict the sale of natural health products.
Chelsie Wolff of Horizon Herbs said Friday the impact of Bill C-47 will have wide-ranging ramifications.
“Every single Canadian is going to be affected by this,” Wolff said.
Wolff is calling for people to write Health Canada and Foothills MP John Barlow to speak out against the bill that received royal assent on June 22.
Bill C-47 is an act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled by the Liberal government last March.
Bill C-47 amends the definition of therapeutic products in the Food and Drugs Act to remove the existing exemption for natural health products.
That means existing provisions of the Food and Drugs Act apply equally to natural health products.
If adopted by Health Canada on Thursday, Aug. 10, any plant-based natural products will have to go through the same criteria as pharmaceutical products.
Wolff said that will likely shut down small businesses like hers and force bigger companies into the United States where there is no such legislation.
More to the point, Wolff said, the legislation will hurt people who are using natural products as a way of caring for their health.
“That’s the thing that really hurts my heart,” Wolff said. “This bill will impact me genuinely trying to help people.”
Bill C-47 contains a single line among 500 that targets natural products.
There was no advance discussion or notification with the industry, and no background provided to Barlow or other MPs.
“There was no opportunity for them to reach out to the public,” Wolff said.
Wolff said the Liberal government was being “sneaky” when it included the item in Bill C-47.
“They (MPs) voted on something they don’t understand,” Wolff said.
Bill C-47 attaches huge fees to new required approvals for products that have already been tested and approved.
Wolff said there is no need for the changes.
“Regulation is a good thing, but the regulatory board in Canada is already top of the world,” Wolff said, explaining other countries are using Canada as an example as they develop their own models.
Bill C-47 creates three new classes for natural products, with fees ranging up to $60,000 just for the application of an innovative new combination of natural ingredients, and a wait of up to six months for approval.
The penalty for operating outside the regulations is fines of up to $5-million and five years in prison.
“We have been blindsided by it,” Wolff said of her industry.
The change will likely see small businesses close and their operators move to selling their products at Farmer’s Markets, which are not regulated in the same way.
The closure of a Main Street business such as Horizon Herbs, Wolff said, will force more people into doctor’s offices and emergency rooms, further burdening the beleaguered health care system.
Wolff said the present system of regulating products that have been used for 20,000 years is sufficient, and the new legislation appears to be nothing more than a cash grab by the government.
“Everything I have on my shelves has gone through checks and balances,” Wolff said.
Foothills MP John Barlow can be reached at 403-603-3665, toll-free at 1-866-636-9437, or by fax at 403-603-3669.
People can also visit https://www.saveoursupplements.ca/get-involved.
People can write the health product compliance and enforcement branch of Health Canada at hc.hpce-cpsal.sc@hs-sc.gc.ca.
You can reach Chelsie Wolff at herbs.on.main@gmail.com.
