|
About Herbalism Program & Curriculum Course Descriptions Current Courses Professional Intensives Scheduling Tuition Fees Payment Options Registration International Students Program Director General Policies Academic Requirements Academic Policies Contact Information Location Herbal Clinic Articles Home |
 |
ARTICLES Political Update, Spring 1999 An incredible amount has happened on the federal political front since we last updated our members near the end of 1997. In fact, as recently as two years ago no-one, including myself, could have possible foresaw that we would come so far so fast. The Central Canadian Herbal Practitioners Association is proud to have made a very significant contribution to what has been one of the most successful political lobbying campaigns ever conducted in this country. What follows is a summary of the events of the last year: The work of the Advisory Panel on Natural Health Products (APNHP) was completed in April 1998. I had last reported that there had been some convergence in the positions of the members of the Advisory Panel and representatives of the Therapeutic Products Programme (TPP). In fact, this was an illusion. It became apparent that the members of the TPP were only paying lip service to a similar point of view while attempting to manipulate the direction of the Panel. As a result, we were forced to officially request from the Health Minister's office that members of the TPP not be allowed to attend our last meeting in April. Nor did we want them involved in the drafting of our Final Report. Although this was accomplished, the TPP still attempted to influence the person that was hired to prepare our final report. It took nothing short of a revolt on the part of all members of the Panel (except one) to get a Final Report that accurately represented our views. This literally occurred only a couple of days before our Final Report was presented to the Standing Committee on Health. In the end, we were extremely happy with the Report. It was presented to the Standing Committee on May 13, 1998. During the hearings conducted by the Standing Committee, the Canadian Coalition of Herbal Associations (CCHA) took the document entitled "A Proposal for the Rational Regulation of Therapeutic Botanicals" that had been prepared by members of the CCHPA and extensively updated it to address all natural health products. This document had been prepared when we were nowhere on these issues and was somewhat conservative in its recommendations. In the 16 months since the document was first released we had come much further than anyone had expected. We were therefore able to expand our proposals considerably. The resulting document entitled "A Proposal for the Regulation of Botanical Medicines and Other Natural Health Products" was presented to the Standing Committee on Health on February 12, 1998 by Chanchal Cabrera and myself and was very well received. Shortly after our presentation, we unfortunately found it necessary to dissolve the CCHA. This was largely due to lack of financial resources and because all of the work of the CCHA was left in the hands of members of the CCHPA. The financial support that we received was just enough to complete and present our proposals to the Standing Committee. We may resurrect the CCHA at some point in the future if it our efforts with the provincial governments require a nationally coordinated effort. On behalf of the CCHPA, I was also involved in the creation and presentation of the documents presented by the Canadian Coalition for Health Freedom (CCHF) and the Canadian Health Food Association (CHFA), both of whom made presentations to the Standing Committee. The Standing Committee on Health completed its hearings on natural health products on May 28, 1998. The Committee presented its final report "Natural Health Products: A New Vision" in November 1998. It included 53 recommendations that largely incorporated the recommendations of the Advisory Panel with many important additions. It was apparent that the members of the Committee had done a thorough job and had a genuine grasp of the issues. Subsequent to the Standing Committee's report, Allan Rock, the Minister of Health, assured the CCHF of his commitment to follow through on their recommendations. On March 26 he came through. As president of the CCHF, once more I was asked to participate in his announcement, which represents a major breakthrough in natural health product regulation. In an unprecedented move, the Minister has accepted all 53 of the Standing Committee's recommendations. During the month of April, 1999, the Minister's office will be creating a Transition Team representing a broad cross section of stakeholders and expertise in the field. This Team will be responsible for implementing the Standing Committee's recommendations and overseeing the transition to the new regulatory framework. Their first job will be to pick an executive director of the new Office of Natural Health Products (ONHP). This is the regulatory body that will be responsible for the regulation of herbs and other natural health products. The ONHP will include in-house expertise and will report directly to the Assistant Deputy Minister of the Health Protection Branch. This means that the bureaucrats that regulate foods and drugs will no longer be involved in the regulation of natural health products. The Transition Team along with the executive director of the new regulatory body will be responsible for creating a permanent Expert Advisory Committee that will work with them to create the specific regulations within the new regulatory framework. In the future, the Expert Advisory Committee will continue to work with the ONHP whenever technical issues need to be addressed. The Minister has accepted the recommendation of the Standing Committee that the process of setting up the new regulatory body and framework should take no more than six months. The Minister has affirmed that he is committed to ensuring that the Transition Team, the Office of Natural Health Products and the Expert Advisory Committee include individuals with "appropriate expertise." This means that these products will no longer be regulated by pharmacologists, biochemists, toxicologists and the like. Instead, the expertise of the ONHP and the Expert Advisory Committee will largely consist of herbalists, naturopaths, nutritionists and industry experts. The Standing Committee recommended that all natural health products meet appropriate quality control standards that reflect the unique characteristics of these products. When regulated as foods, herbs and other natural health products were not required to meet any quality control standards. When regulated as drugs, they were forced to comply to the same standards as pharmaceuticals. Now we will have standards that are reasonable and appropriate. In addition, the Standing Committee has recommended that the labels of these products include appropriate warnings and indications for their use based on both traditional usage, and scientific research. Although it is outside of the jurisdiction of the federal government, the Standing Committee also acknowledged the importance of the practitioner issue. They have recommended that a dialogue be initiated between the federal and provincial governments to address the issue of regulation of natural health practitioners. Once our work on product regulations and legislation is complete, it will be necessary to direct our efforts towards this issue. Through our involvement in this campaign, the CCHPA has not only contributed to the development of an infinitely superior regulatory framework for herbs and other natural health products, we have also helped to bring herbalists out of relative obscurity and into a prominent place with regard to government negotiations and regulation. We are committed to continuing this work on federal, provincial and municipal levels to guarantee our rightful place within the Canadian health care system. For more information… On the final report of the Advisory Panel on Natural Health Products (http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hpb-dgps/therapeut/zfiles/english/herbals/finalrpt_e.html) On the report of the Standing Committee on Health (http://www.parl.gc.ca/InfoComDoc/36/1/HEAL/Studies/Reports/healrp02-e.htm) On the Health Minister's announcement (http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/english/archives/releases/99_46e.htm) On the Office of Natural Health Products Transition Team (http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/english/nhp/team.htm) This article was originally published in the Central Canadian Herbal Practitioners Association Newsletter, Spring 1999. Back to List of Articles |
 |
||