Critics want a controversial consumer protection bill rescinded over concerns of violations of personal freedoms and access to alternative health.

Bill C-6, the proposed Canada Consumer Product Safety Act, is intended to “keep Canadian families safe from dangerous consumer products,” according to Health Canada, but some fear the bill carries with it clauses that would restrict access to natural health and allow Health Canada officials powers that would circumvent the courts, the Canadian Constitution and Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

“This is about much more than just health supplements,” said Tree House Health Foods owner Lonni Warren.
“It's about our rights too.”

Not only does the bill cause concern for natural health advocates, who are worried it will lead to the elimination of many products from health food store shelves and ultimately restrict Canadians access to natural health products, it has also has stirred civil libertarians.

Kamloops lawyer Shawn Buckley, who used to fight on behalf of Health Canada but now represents natural health companies, says Bill C-6 provides Health Canada with dramatically expanded powers to: trespass on private property without recourse, seize private property without court supervision; destroy private property without court supervision; take control of businesses without court supervision; in some circumstances to keep seized private property without a court order; and impose penalties that most family run businesses could not survive.

“Health inspectors can go onto any private property and there's no recourse and they don't even have to be investigating you, they can be investigating your neighbour,” says Buckley.

Okanagan-Coquihalla MP Stockwell Day, who supports Bill C-6, says the legislation is needed to protect consumers from “untold amounts” of imports coming into Canada.

“Natural health products are not under this bill,” said Day.

C-6 was amended earlier this year to specifically exclude natural health products.

Despite the amendment, Bill C-6 could still be made applicable to natural health products in the future by a regulatory amendment.

Buckley says he is not confident that C-6 wouldn't later be amended to include natural health products and says officials may re-introduce Bill C-51 which, accordingly to Buckley would have brought natural health products under the drug category and made it very difficult to obtain product licensing.

“It is completely unrealistic to assume that similar enforcement provisions and penalties would not be applied to drugs and Natural Health Products,” states Buckley.

Might a person suspected of possessing a bottle of Vitamin C not falling under Bill C-6's standards or participating in business activity involving unregulated products be raided by Health Canada officials?

“If they were a distributor and they had over the maximum allowable amount of vitamin C, they could be raided,” said doctor of natural of medicine and natural health product manufacturer Richard DeSylva.

On Jan. 15, 2009, Calgary naturopathic doctor Eldon Dahl and his wife were sitting in their home when Health Canada agents and a SWAT time raided their residence and held them for 11 hours. The armed raid was conducted on the suspicion that Dahl was distributing unregulated vitamins, amino acids, and progesterone cream.

Since then, Dahl's natural health product distribution business has ceased.

“It's a precedent that is set, if we allow the state to come on to our property over natural health products, what's next?” said Buckley
“In effect, what we are losing is our property rights.”

Last week, Buckley spoke before the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science, and Technology to express his opposition to Bill C-6.

Although Buckley is in favour of consumer protection and requirements that companies put on their labels what's in the bottle, he questioned the priority Bill C-6 gives to consumer protection over individual freedoms.

“Have consumer products suddenly become so dangerous that we have to give up fundamental freedoms to protect ourselves and are we more safe giving the state free range over our property?” asks Buckley.

“The bill deals with things like false claims made by products, testing requirements, and it deals with the time it takes to do a recall when a dangerous product is discovered,” said Day.

Buckley and DeSylva say they fear that if it passes, it will not only present a threat to freedoms and potentially impact natural health product distribution, but it would also open the door for Canada's health laws to be harmonized with the laws of foreign bodies like the European Union.

The Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), a regulatory body that was established in 1963 by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Health Organization may be one such foreign body, recognized in Bill C-6, that could be harmonized with Health Canada.

The CAC can be used to settle international disputes concerning food safety and consumer protection, including cases involving natural health supplements. Proposals have been made to the CAC to classify natural health products as drugs and set the criteria for maximum and minimum dosage levels “to stop consumers overdosing on vitamin and mineral food supplements."

“This bill (C-6) is a Trojan horse bill,” said DeSylva.

“It would allow for Codex Alimentarius to come into Canada because it would force Canada to align its regulations with international regulations.”

Bill C-6 allows for the definition of government to include; a government of a foreign state or a subdivision of a foreign state, or an international organization of states.

“Because it (Consumer Protection Act) encompasses such a broad spectrum of legislation, the potential to violate our freedoms is very high,” says Warren.

“It effects every single person who has ever purchased anything, not just a natural health product.”

Bill C-6's fate could be decided before Parliament's Christmas break. It remains in discussion before the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science, and Technology.

Warren says she is concerned about the future of her health food stores in Merritt and Hope and the implications Bill C-6 would have on Canadians' access to alternative health.

The natural health industry has another looming battle. Starting in 2011, all health products stocked on retailers' shelves will require a Natural Product Number.

“The reason it is potentially bad is because, how many of the companies that have submitted their applications for licensing have been refused?” said Warren.

“We do not no how many of our products were are going to be left with next year.”

Warren adds that smaller companies will suffer the most.

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