Coalition Wants Raids Stopped

The Canadian Coalition for Health Freedom (CCHF) has called for a stop to RCMP raids on health food stores in Ontario and an end to the present two-tiered health care system that penalizes Canadians for buying natural health products and therapies instead of drugs.

According to the Coalition, more than 26 stores have been raided by the RCMP since July to remove popular products that are legally available to Canadians by US mail order. It says that the raids were requested by an Ontario Health Products and Food Branch inspector and circumvented both the new Directorate as well as procedures that are available within Health Canada to persue store searches.

"These raids were conducted without warrant or due process," said Coalition president Michael Vertolli. "They were inspired by Health Canada officials who are attempting to undermine the expressed wishes of Parliament, the Health Minister and the public to bring about greater access to natural health products in an orderly manner through a new regulatory regime."

Speaking at a media conference in which representatives of all political parties were invited to state their position on natural health products reform, Vertolli asked for their commitment to speed up regulatory reform by the new Natural Health Products Directorate.

"Canada today has a two-tier health care system one in which the public purse pays for pharmaceutical drugs but not for low-cost natural health products and therapies that keep people well," Vertolli said.

The CCHF is Canada's largest coalition of consumer, health, practitioner and industry stakeholder groups involved with natural health products and therapies.