Health Canada should do a better job of promoting the virtues of the system it uses to assess the safety of new foods and drugs, food industry officials told Parliament last week.
And a maverick Liberal MP said he is trying to change the law to make it illegal for lobby or advocacy groups to spread false information about new products or processes like biotechnology if they use those claims in fund-raising campaigns.
During House of Commons agriculture committee hearings on biotechnology, witnesses from the farm, research, food manufacturing and grocery distribution sectors said they believe Canada’s regulatory system for assessing food and drug safety is science-based and credible.
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But they faulted Health Canada for not promoting that fact.
“We would all be better served if a proactive campaign was launched to explain regulatory standards,” said Jeanne Cruikshank, vice-president of the Canadian Council of Grocery Distributors.
“We do ask that the safety message be clearly communicated by those responsible.”
Laurie Curry of the Food and Consumer Products Manufacturers of Canada pointed to the uproar over the Health Canada study of the dairy growth hormone, bovine somatotropin, as a prime example.
The drug has been under review for years and there have been public allegations that the manufacturer Monsanto has been exerting pressure on the government and that the system is biased toward approving the product.
Curry said anti-BST campaigners are regularly in the news making allegations about bias in the system and the safety of the product.
“Who in Health Canada was on the nightly news talking about the stringent regulatory conditions?” she asked.
Make false claims illegal
Hamilton-area Liberal John Bryden said he is trying to convince the Commons industry committee to insert a clause in the Competition Act making it illegal for advocacy groups to use false claims during fund-raising campaigns.
He said anti-biotechnology advocates make outrageous claims about product safety. In the fight against BST, the Council of Canadians helped orchestrate a national campaign to stir up unease about the impact of BST on human and livestock health.
Bryden said it is typical of the “spurious” arguments often made by advocacy groups. He also cited the campaign by the International Fund for Animal Welfare against the seal hunt.
“If my amendment was approved, when they try to use misleading information to raise money, they will be subject to the sanctions of the Competition Act,” he said.
Bryden said when biotech products are attacked by advocacy groups, it could be helping commercial competitors with rival products.
“They should not be able to get away with telling lies to raise money,” he said.
