Bill C-224

An Act to amend the Food and Drugs Act (natural health products)

Sponsor

Blaine Calkins Conservative

Introduced as a private member’s bill. (These don’t often become law.)

Status

In committee (House), as of March 10, 2026

Subscribe to a feed (what's a feed?) of speeches and votes in the House related to Bill C-224.

Summary

This is from the published bill.

This enactment amends the Food and Drugs Act to provide that natural health products are not therapeutic products within the meaning of that Act and, therefore, are not subject to the same monitoring regime as other drugs.

Similar bills

C-368 (44th Parliament, 1st session) An Act to amend the Food and Drugs Act (natural health products)

Elsewhere

All sorts of information on this bill is available at LEGISinfo, an excellent resource from Parliament. You can also read the full text of the bill.

Bill numbers are reused for different bills each new session. Perhaps you were looking for one of these other C-224s:

C-224 (2022) Law National Framework on Cancers Linked to Firefighting Act

C-224 (2020) An Act to amend An Act to authorize the making of certain fiscal payments to provinces, and to authorize the entry into tax collection agreements with provinces

C-224 (2016) Law Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act

Debate Summary

This is a computer-generated summary of the speeches below. Usually it’s accurate, but every now and then it’ll contain inaccuracies or total fabrications.

Bill C-224 seeks to amend the Food and Drugs Act to restore the traditional definition of natural health products and prevent them from being regulated as therapeutic drugs.

Conservative

Opposes Bill C-47's overreach: The Conservative party opposes Bill C-47, which redefined natural health products as therapeutic drugs without consultation, leading to excessive regulation, red tape, and increased costs for the industry.
Supports Bill C-224 to restore balance: The party supports Bill C-224 to reverse Bill C-47's changes, aiming to restore the traditional regulatory framework for natural health products and protect small businesses and consumer choice.
Highlights economic and social harm: The party warns that Bill C-47's new regulations threaten the $5.5 billion natural health product industry, especially women-owned micro-businesses and traditional medicine practitioners, leading to job losses and reduced access.
Prioritizes consumer choice and existing powers: Conservatives emphasize Canadians' desire for health care choice, arguing Health Canada already has ample powers to ensure product safety, making Bill C-47's new, stringent regulations unnecessary and burdensome.

Bloc

Opposes Bill C-47's approach: The Bloc argues Bill C-47 is an inappropriate, rushed response by Health Canada that threatens the natural health products industry, despite existing regulations and the industry's willingness to improve.
Advocates for industry survival: The party criticizes Health Canada for applying pharmaceutical cost recovery and penalty models to natural health products, advocating for a system that ensures the survival of small and medium-sized businesses.
Proposed specific amendments: The Bloc introduced amendments to ensure nicotine remains a therapeutic product for smoking cessation and to explicitly grant the minister power to order product recalls, aligning with existing regulations.

Liberal

Supports industry growth with consumer safety: The Liberal party supports the growth of Canada's natural health product industry, recognizing its economic value, but emphasizes the paramount importance of consumer well-being, health, and safety.
Bill C-224 weakens consumer protection: Bill C-224 would remove essential regulatory powers of the Minister of Health, including product recalls, label changes, and the ability to fine companies, which could undermine public trust in product safety.
Oversight builds trust and export potential: Health Canada's oversight, enhanced by legislation like Bill C-47, strengthens the industry, builds consumer confidence in Canadian products, and boosts Canada's reputation in global export markets.

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