Self-care product consultation summary: Saskatoon, Vancouver
Public consultation sessions to discuss the modernization of self-care product regulation were held in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan on April 4, 2017, and in Vancouver, British Columbia on April 5, 2017.
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Consultation summaries
To modernize self-care product regulation in Canada, we asked consumers and other stakeholders for input on a policy proposal.
We thank everyone who participated in these sessions. The feedback provided will continue to shape the regulation of self-care products in Canada.
Participants
Overall, 22 participants attended the consultation in Saskatoon while 95 participants attended in Vancouver. People who attended the consultation included:
- academics
- consumers
- health professionals
- business representatives
To protect the privacy of consultation participants, their names will not be shared.
Key issues discussed
During the consultation we delivered a presentation on both the context of the sessions and the policy proposal, including:
- product classifications based on a two-class categorization system of risk level including safety and failed product efficacy
- acceptable claims within each of the two classes
- unique label identifiers and statements on labels to help consumers easily identify products
- compliance and enforcement measures to address safety concerns
Feedback: what we heard
We have included a brief summary of what we heard from participants at the Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and Vancouver, British Columbia public consultation sessions.
Consultation and engagement
Participants at the public consultations said they:
- had a fair opportunity to be heard
- found the meetings to be productive
- appreciated the roundtable discussions, but would have liked more time
- felt grateful for the open and diverse forum with an engaging dialogue
- appreciated hearing from Health Canada and having the opportunity to express their views
Participants at the public consultations want Health Canada to:
- promote the public consultation sessions better
- share information in advance of the sessions
- deliver evening sessions to ensure consultations are accessible to Western Canadians
Policy Proposal
Participants at the public consultation said the policy proposal should:
- include consumer awareness and education activities
- consider that natural health products should not be classified with non-prescription drugs or cosmetics (some participants)
- provide Health Canada the ability to enforce the rules and conduct inspections, which are important to the regulatory framework
- include unique identifiers to assist industry exporting products to other jurisdictions
- provide more clarity on many of the terms used, and offer more information on the proposal, to better inform policy discussions
- consider that some participants felt a two-class product system could oversimplify the current market for self-care products, while others supported a two-class system
For more information
Health Canada – Health Products and Food Branch
Natural and Non-Prescription Health Products Directorate
250 Lanark Avenue, A.L. 2003C
Ottawa, Ontario,
K1A 0K9
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