Opinion by Consumer Advocate Tim Bolen
Canadians don’t mess around, apparently, when it comes to demanding their rights as citizens. Individual Canadians seem to have the idea that THEY are the government, not those hirelings (like Health Canada) they put in place to do their bidding. That thinking is very evident in several court cases filed recently all over Canada where certain citizens, and groups like “Friends of Freedom,” are taking on “Health Canada,” our Northern neighbor’s version of the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA).
I approve, and applaud, their actions.
Everyone knows that the leadership of both the the US FDA and Health Canada are in bed with “Big Pharma.” They don’t even bother to hide it. The US FDA is no more than an assault squad targeting competitors to “Big Pharma’s” competitors for US health dollars. Period.
But, in Canada, certain groups have devised a strategy, and tactics, for the express purpose of taking back control of Health Canada from “Big Pharma,” and restoring control of it to the people. It is a two-fold assault. (1) A bill in the Canadian legislature (C-420) (2) a lawsuit against Health Canada.
Bill C-420 author James Lunney says of it “Bill C-420 has to do with the way natural health products are regulated. It’s a very concise bill. It’s basically a one-page bill, and it would simply change the definition of food and drugs. It would open the definition of a drug and say “excluding food”, and then it would open the definition food, and say “including dietary supplements, herbs, and other natural health products” as food, so they cannot be regulated as drugs. Currently they’re regulated as a subclass of drugs, and that has resulted in a lot of problems, frankly.”
The lawsuit against Health Canada is similar in its intent. Basically, it makes the claim that Health Canada is INTENTIONALLY misconstruing parts of Canadian legislation to favor drug companies (what a surprise – sarcasm intended), and is imposing restrictions on food and supplements that the Canadian legislature never intended.
You can read the details by clicking on the individual actions. When you read the actions, keep in mind something very important – the fact that this is a very good combination of strategy and tactics. It is a “sledgehammer” assault.. One that can be used against individuals, individual State, or Federal, employees, agencies, Boards, etc – those that defy the wants and needs of the citizenry.
It’s time we used sledgehammer EVERY TIME…
Stay tuned…
Tim Bolen – Consumer Advocate