Health Freedom: Bill C-420 (March 20, 2005)
Bill C-420: An Act to amend the Food and Drugs Act
www.parl.gc.ca, First reading, October 21, 2004
In order to protect us from CODEX, according to friendsoffreedom.org (http://friendsoffreedom.org/action.php?op=ActionLetter1), Dr. James Lunney introduced Bill C-420, which seeks to widen the definition of “food” in the Food and Drugs Act to include “any ingredient that may be mixed with food for any purpose whatever, including dietary supplements, herbs and other natural health products,” and to narrow the definition of the word “drug”. Also, it seeks to repeal certain sections of the Act, namely 3(1), 3(2) and Schedule A.
Of course when I start reading the old Food and Drugs Act, I just want to give up! The following section for instance is just a violation our right to free expression, and prevents possibly helpful and truthful information from being conveyed to mature consumers who are able to evaluate it for themselves, and then decide what they put in their own bodies – which belong to them.
General
3. (1) No person shall advertise any food, drug, cosmetic or device to the general public as a treatment, preventative or cure for any of the diseases, disorders or abnormal physical states referred to in Schedule A.
(2) No person shall sell any food, drug, cosmetic or device
(a) that is represented by label, or
(b) that the person advertises to the general public
as a treatment, preventative or cure for any of the diseases, disorders or abnormal physical states referred to in Schedule A.
In a free society, businesses should be able to make any kind of statement and then take the consequences in the form of fraud charges, or lost business or bad reputation or just scientific correction. People just want solutions that work. They just want to learn more. They want to try things. They know that nobody has all the answers, not even the so-called authorities. If information is suppressed, how do consumers learn anything? Always we have to live with these types of restrictions!
More on Bill C-420 and Codex
EarthSave Canada article: In the Global Village, Who Controls the Herb Garden?
www.earthsave.bc.ca
Another site that opposes Codex: taxtyranny.ca
“Dr. James Lunney, MP for Nanaimo-Alberni, congratulated all Members in the House of Commons for passing the second reading of Private Member’s Bill C-420, which he originally introduced in the last session of Parliament…”
Ongoing problems with Bill C-420
“Bill C-420 made it to Standing Committee in the house on March 9th, but I am afraid that most Members are in favour of creating a 3rd category for our supplements instead of treating them as the Natural Foods that they are derived from …”
March 12, 2005: C-420 Debate transcript
After reading the comments of the Bloc Quebecois member in the above document, who explains why natural health products should have a third category, I’m beginning to realize that this bill is trying to be a bit too clever in attempting to have them covered by the term “food”. It feels to me like this bill may backfire and lead to more regulations. Am I wrong? If it morphs into something more destructive, its supporters need to kill it – if they can.
Codex Alimentarius Commission (http://www.codexalimentarius.net/)
“The Codex Alimentarius Commission was created in 1963 by FAO and WHO to develop food standards, guidelines and related texts such as codes of practice under the Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme. The main purposes of this Programme are protecting health of the consumers and ensuring fair trade practices in the food trade, and promoting coordination of all food standards work undertaken by international governmental and non-governmental organizations.”