Recent decisions by Health Canada and the Federal Government to attach additional fees to health food products and supplements are putting producers, suppliers and retail outlets in jeopardy. Parties invested in the health food and natural health supplement industries are sounding the alarm about lack of available products and higher prices for consumers. That includes local health food and supplements retailer Andy McAnally of Causeway Natural Health in Humboldt. 

The new fees are based on the implementation of the Protecting Canadian from Unsafe Drugs Act or Vanessa’s Law, published in 2014. The legislation mandates the regulation of therapeutic products and requires adverse patient reactions to be reported. Initially, most natural health products (NHPs) were excluded from the same demands as over the counter pharmaceuticals, given that they were deemed lower risk. 

However, the 2023 Federal Budget, as part of the Self-Care Framework Initiative, included a move by Health Canada to include NHPs under a new few structure. Changes to the industry would include heightened requirements for consumer information, changes to packaging, and ultimately increased fees assessed by the government to align with other therapeutic products.  

“Health Canada wants to impose increased licensing fees on our suppliers, and what that means for retailers is that it will put smaller suppliers out of business,” explains McAnally. “They won’t be able to compete. There will be a lack of choice for our customers, and it will drive up prices dramatically for companies that survive, as they will have to increase their costs to make ends meet.” 

McAnally says that some of the smaller suppliers are family-based businesses from across the country. He says it's a scenario that’s not unique to Canada. The American Food and Drug Administration is seeking reclassification of some products that have been traditionally viewed as NHPs to the status of drugs with similar effects on suppliers and the supply chain. 

The Canadian Health Food Association is a national body that supports producers and retailers and works with Health Canada to support regulation and safety of NHPs that range from beauty products and toothpaste to organic health supplements. The organization has expressed concerns about Health Canada’s licensing fees, ostensibly in place for cost recovery of its heightened scrutiny. The concern is not about existing regulation, and the industry is highly regulated. The contention is that the fees are simply too much for industry participants to bear, says Jules Gorham, director of regulatory affairs and policy for the CHFA.  

“The cost recovery fees as proposed will be extremely difficult for small and medium sized businesses to afford. The right to sell yearly fee, the application fees that will go up to over $58,000 to bring a new product to the Canadian market. The fees are very expensive, and they will have the outcome of one of two things. Either the cost of products will go up greatly for the Canadian consumer, or brands will simply have to pull products off the market altogether. Canadians will no longer have access to variety and be able to make choices about their self-care.” 

The Association is also concerned about new regulations driving consumers to overseas and unregulated markets through online marketing.  

“Protecting the health and safety of Canadians is a top priority that the natural health product industry and Health Canada share,” Gorham says. “However, by causing the Canadian brands that are highly regulated and validated scientifically by Health Canada to pull product from the market, we are going to cause the consumer to have to find those products that they love somewhere else. Those products will be from an online, unmonitored and unregulated marketplace. That is putting the health and safety of Canadians at risk.” 

The resulting production stoppage of products deemed to be unprofitable and skyrocketing prices for those products that remain could certainly spell trouble for small local retailers like Causeway Natural Health. 

Asked what supporters of his products and the industry in general, McAnally offered this. 

“Bring attention to your Member of Parliament. We have postcards in our store that we can fill out – they just need to put their postal code, sign it, and put their MP’s name on it. Postage is paid – they can drop it off at the store or drop it off at the post office.” 

People can also express concerns and gather information online through the CHFA at https://chfa.ca.