Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Division 19 has two major changes to the Food and Drugs Act that are fairly narrow in scope. The first relates to how Health Canada will tell the system what is or is not a prescription drug. The second relates to food and food safety. If you go to clause

Finance committee  We would not characterize it in that way. The minister is doing the same scientific process as always. There is no exemption from a compound either on the drug side or the food side going through the same scientific rigour. All that is changing is how that is expressed, and in fa

Finance committee  No, this instrument does not give the minister that ability. In fact, there was an interim marketing authorization set of provisions that was introduced earlier into the Food and Drugs Act with the same aim, to make it more efficient, but those sunsetted after two years. Looking

Finance committee  Correct.

Finance committee  That's correct.

Finance committee  Again, these are still regulations that are being made. They will still have the force of law.

Finance committee  That's correct. So the safety part comes in the scientific assessment. You're looking at an individual compound. Is it toxic? How will Canadians be exposed to it? That is done, again, through a very well known, well established process. We then have to make a rule after that thro

Finance committee  We're quite satisfied that there would be no change in the protection elements of this. The expression in a regulatory table.... If you look at the food and drug regulations, it's a very thick piece—

Finance committee  Yes, of course. It's a very thick document and it's full of tables that you will look at. Those tables will look the same in the administrative list. The administrative list will also have the same force of law. So if you're looking at the website, you will see no material differ

Finance committee  That is completely correct.

Finance committee  It was much earlier than that, recognizing that what we're changing is a very old regulatory structure. Some of it is about 50 years old, and possibly older. There have been pressures on the time it takes, following scientific review, to just reflect a regulatory amendment.

Finance committee  This is quite narrow—it speaks only to the regulation-making process conducted by others.

Finance committee  That's correct.

Finance committee  This is a precise characterization. There is no exemption in terms of what we do on the scientific basis. So as we look at things like food additives, important anti-microbials, or on schedule F, the same science is conducted, and then the rule is expressed much more rapidly and

Health committee  Thank you, Madam Chair. On October 3, 2012, the Minister of Health announced the development of a modern framework for orphan drugs. These are drugs used to treat rare diseases. This opens the way for increased Canadian research and development of these drugs and for improving C