Thank you, Chair.
I have a question for Ms. Donsky. First, I want to say that we know that natural health products are and have been regulated by Health Canada. I think we all agree on that.
I want to state that natural food stores and natural health stores are the anchor of many small towns and many small-town main streets, and many are owned by women. I know they are present in my rural riding in all the small communities, and owners tell me that they are struggling. They're competing with Amazon, for one, which has no regulation, as you know. My very rural riding has one of the longest borders with the United States in the country, with six border crossings. We're trying to prevent or not encourage cross-border shopping, whether it's by driving or through Amazon, where there's no regulation at all.
Rural ridings like mine also have very few doctors. We're struggling with being able to see a doctor, and the walk-in clinics are very scant, with just a couple in my entire riding, which is huge. If you are able to see a doctor, they're recommending natural health food products and they want you to shop locally, of course, so people are turning to their natural health food stores for help.
Ms. Donsky, you cited survey data showing that women speaking with health care providers about the symptoms of perimenopause and menopause found that supplements were among the most recommended treatments, with nearly half of women saying their health care provider had suggested them. Why do you think that is?