Chris Bittle says it's to protect consumers
The federal government is planning to increase regulation on the natural health food industry.
St. Catharines Liberal MP Chris Bittle says that includes small administrative fees, that will help pay for protection against companies he says make outlandish claims.
He recalls being in St. Catharines when a speaker claimed vitamin C helps cancer treatments, which he says is not true. "If the dairy industry said 'Milk prevents cancer, we would expect there better be some documentation to back that up. We would expect that of a product like dairy, or any other food."
He adds the government has been working on this for years.
As for regulation, he says it'll be less than what the pharmaceutical industry faces. "If there is violation of the law, there would be penalties... same type of thing for any industry where the safety of Canadians would be impacted."
He says this won't impact prices.
Flamborough-Glanbrook Conservative MP Dan Muys sent out flyers indicating constituents expressed concern the government was planning to ban natural health food products, and impose significant new fees on the import, manufacture and sale of products. The flyer also indicated with increased regulations, more companies are considering leaving Canada, resulting in increased prices.
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