Acts and Regulations

Health Canada is responsible for administering certain federal acts and regulations.

Access these federal acts and regulations at the following link: Health Canada list of acts and regulations.

Health Canada is committed to the principles of transparency, reasonableness, consistency in the decision-making process, and clarity and accessibility of content and their alignment when using incorporation by reference in regulations.

• View Health Canada Incorporation by Reference Policy
• View Inventory of documents incorporated by reference

Health Canada publishes a public list, with descriptions, of planned or anticipated federal regulatory changes that the department intends to bring forward over a 24-month period (Forward Regulatory Plan).

Health Canada's stock review plan, which is the department's plan to review its entire regulatory stock over a set period of time. The stock review plan includes:

• a list of regulations that will undergo a review, prioritized in a way that makes sense to the regulator and stakeholders
• a time frame for the review(s)

View the Forward Regulatory Plan and the Stock Review Plan

Health Canada participated in the Targeted Regulatory Reviews focused on the health and biosciences, and the agri-food and aquaculture sectors to identify and address regulatory barriers to economic growth and innovation.

• View the Health and Biosciences Sector Regulatory Review Roadmap
• View the Agri-food and Aquaculture Sector Regulatory Review Roadmap

Health Canada publishes timelines service standards and performance information for its services, including services for regulated parties to obtain regulatory authorization such as a permit or licence to engage in a regulated activity.

• View timeliness service standards and performance information: 2021 to 2022.
• View timeliness service standards and performance information: 2020 to 2021.
• View timeliness service standards and performance information: 2019 to 2020.
• View timeliness service standards and performance information: 2018 to 2019.
• View timeliness service standards and performance information: 2017 to 2018.

Health Canada's Policy on Providing Guidance on Regulatory Requirements:

• outlines the commitments, practices and tools that Health Canada applies when providing Canadians and businesses with information and guidance on regulatory obligations to be met
• identifies the conditions under which written responses will be provided

View the department's Policy on Providing Guidance on Regulatory Requirements.

The Administrative Burden Baseline initiative requires departments and agencies to:

• establish a baseline count of federal regulatory requirements that impose administrative burden on business
• annually update and report publicly on the count of baseline requirements

View the number of administrative burden requirements in regulations administered by Health Canada at the following links:

• Administrative Burden Baseline: Update 2022
• Administrative Burden Baseline: Update 2021
• Administrative Burden Baseline: Update 2020
• Administrative Burden Baseline: Update 2019
• Administrative Burden Baseline: Update 2018
• Administrative Burden Baseline: Update 2017