Health on the Hill: Health Canada Censorship is Going Too Far

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We live in a country of almost complete censorship of truthful health information. Yet the best health decisions are based on truthful health information.

 

Imagine you are responsible for Canada’s health policy.  Would you choose to censor truthful health information or would you require the truth to be told?  Which would lead to better health outcomes – censorship or truth?

These are not idle questions.  We live in a country of almost absolute censorship of truthful health information.  It is costing lives.  It needs to stop.

Health Canada is a censorship machine.  To sell anything for a health purpose you have to get Health Canada’s permission in the form of a licence.  For chemical drugs licences are usually for specific conditions such as “depression”.  For natural health products licenses are usually for less specific claims such as “supports the central nervous system”.

Health Canada takes the position that it is illegal for anyone in the drug industry to tell the truth about their drugs.  All that can be legally shared is the approved licence claim.  This censorship protects the chemical drug industry.  For example, an expert in getting anti-depressant chemicals licensed by Health Canada explained to me that he has to provide Health Canada with two clinical trials showing the chemical works better than the placebo.

To get those two positive clinical trials, he runs eight clinical trials.  He has learned he needs to run eight clinical trials to get two positive ones.  The other six clinical trials could show the drug doesn’t work.  He does not need to share the failed clinical trials with Health Canada, or with you.  This costs lives.  If the law was that all clinical trials had to be shared with the public, you would know there were eight clinical trials and that only two were positive.  This would enable you to make better health decisions.

Health Canada censorship hurts the natural health community.  For example, there have been 30  peer-reviewed research articles published on the multivitamin Truehope EMPowerplus.  All of this research was funded by governments.  This government funded research showed profound success in treating conditions such as bi-polar disorder and ADHD.

Yet Truehope cannot share this research with you.  Truehope is only allowed to share their licence claim of providing nutritional support for the central nervous system.  This costs lives.  If the law was that all research had to be shared with the public you would know of this research.  This would enable you to make better health decisions.

This censorship is by design.  It supports the chemical drug health care system funded by government.  It limits the natural health community funded by the citizens.

Censorship leads to harm.  The best health decisions are based on truthful health information.  We need to be informed about the failures of a drug.  We also need to be informed about the successes of a drug.  The law should stipulate that all information, positive and negative, must be shared with the public.  This is not a matter of idle speculation.  It is a matter of sickness or health.  It is a matter of life and death.  Our policy is backwards.  Instead of criminalizing the sharing of truthful health information we need to be requiring full transparency.  We need to be free.

Byline: Shawn Buckley, LLB, is a lawyer who has been conducting legal advocacy for natural health products (NHPs) for 30 years, and the president and founder of the Natural Health Product Protection Association (NHPPA).

10 Comments

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  1. Dr. Michelle
    July 02, 16:57 Dr. Michelle

    Wow! This is eye-opening information. It’s appalling that drug companies can conduct many studies showing drug failures, as long as they get two showing some degree of success. All they have to do is change study parameters to get “positive” results. Meanwhile, natural health companies like Truehope ISN’T ALLOWED to share valuable scientific research showing the health benefits of their products. Clearly, this is not in the Canadian public’s best interest.

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  2. C
    July 09, 07:14 Cheerleader

    knowing that you care about little Old people like me And want to provide us with information natural to share with our children, and our families is so wonderful. Please don’t give up fight the good fight the pharmaceuticals combined with government becoming evil.

    Reply this comment
  3. Mark Butler
    July 09, 07:35 Mark Butler

    Just goes to show that big pharma are in the pockets of the politicians.

    Reply this comment
  4. M
    July 09, 09:18 Marg

    Thank you for this very useful information. Clearly the system needs Change ASAP!

    Reply this comment
  5. C
    July 09, 12:59 CAT

    We must go to the source of this issue, which is that our country, along with many others, has been hijacked by communists trained by the World Economic Forum. For ten years we have been following the path to total control by these people. Until Canadians TRULY UNDERSTAND THE GOALS OF THIS GROUP AND DEPOSE THEM any real change that benefits us IS IMPOSSIBLE.

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  6. Phoenix
    July 09, 16:40 Phoenix

    What about the folks in Health Canada? Don’t they know the value of natural health stores and NH practitioners?

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    • j
      July 12, 19:18 jah

      Are you kidding? Of course they know the value but it isn’t in their financial interests to promote natural cures. And how can you control healthy people? You can’t because they know how to think – and that would be disastrous for HC.

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  7. F
    July 10, 13:44 Founder

    I’m Allan Finney, the founder of the Companionship of the Sacred Vine, the first legal ayahuasca shamanic church in Canada. We obtained a s.56 exemption, which has proven to be useless because of the continued actions of the Health Canada bureaucracy.

    I’ve spent 6 years on this and I can tell you from first-hand experience, the HC bureaucracy is not there for your health but the health of the Pharmaceutical Industry. All the best to everyone involved in this battle.

    Reply this comment
  8. s
    July 12, 15:25 strongarm

    corrupt to the core!!!

    Reply this comment
  9. L
    July 13, 10:31 LauraK

    Thank you for your tireless efforts Shawn – sharing this further. History will show you as a hero for your foresight.

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