Thank you very much, Chair.
In spite of efforts to silence this very important topic of data production in the face of egregious and unsubstantiated claims directed towards the natural health product community, I think it is important to set the stage for folks who are out there listening.
I want to bring people back to the fact that I know that every member of this committee, including Dr. Powlowski, Dr. Hanley...perhaps not Mr. Naqvi, because he wasn't there. I know Ms. Sidhu has been here throughout this entire disgraceful episode.
We have received more correspondence on this particular issue with respect to natural health products than any other issue that has ever come before the health committee in the three years that I've been here.
I know that we've brought stacks upon stacks of people to committee who were reaching out and saying, “Do not take away my access to natural health products.” Once again, what we have heard from witnesses who have appeared here.... I'll refer back to the original omnibus bill when officials from Health Canada said here very clearly, “You can search the database for yourself.”
Chair, that is why this is particularly important. When we asked them where the numbers came up and what the particular adverse effects were, they said, “You can search the database for yourself.” We asked if they would table the actual adverse effects in writing with the committee, and the answer we got back was the exact same, which is disgraceful.
That is exactly why I think it is important to have this motion acted upon and the data brought forward on behalf of families and entrepreneurs who have natural health products and businesses for natural health products, which is a $13-billion business in Canada.
When we asked Health Canada officials that question, they said, “Go look at the database yourself.” When we asked them to table that with the committee, the exact same answer came up, which was, “Go and look at the database yourself.”
I don't know how many people around the table here tried to look at the database. We spent hours attempting to look at that database, which we should never have to do, to substantiate the claim of Health Canada with respect to natural health products.