As the president and CEO of the Canadian Health Food Association, I can tell you that our sector and membership are defined by small and medium-sized businesses that are dedicated to providing Canadian customers and consumers with natural, organic wellness products that help to promote their families' health.
Our manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, importers, and retailers are in almost every community across the country. In total, there are over 2,800 retail stores selling natural health products, organic food, and wellness products in Canada, the vast majority of which are small and medium-sized business owners.
As we know, health is a top priority for Canadians. In this context, a national survey we conducted found that 73% of Canadians used natural health products. I'll let that sink in for members: 73% of your constituents are using our products to promote healthy living. In other words, we are an important part of how Canadians maintain their health and well-being.
While we may be small and medium-sized businesses, collectively natural health products contribute over $3.7 billion to the Canadian economy. Our members are very proud to employ over 55,000 Canadians across this country. I thank you for studying small and medium-sized businesses, as it is critical that parliamentarians understand the challenges our businesses face and the opportunities that lie before us.
Today, I want to highlight two critical federal government files that are of concern to our members. One is a significant missed economic and growth opportunity, and the second is an overburdening regulatory shift.
On the opportunity side, I'd like to highlight the slow movement of the government to recognize CBD as a natural health product. CBD is the part of cannabis that does not get you high, and potentially has a slew of therapeutic benefits.
Since the laudable legislation of recreational cannabis, the sale of CBD products is only through recreational cannabis stores or through medical access with a doctor's note. This makes no sense, as CBD, when sourced from a plant, is natural and, as a raw material, should belong under Canada's established natural health products regulations. It is worth noting that regulating CBD as a natural health product was one of the options identified by the expert committee created to advise the government on how cannabis products should be regulated.
The federal government has been inexplicably stalling on CBD policy, resulting in a missed opportunity to create jobs and growth. This prevents natural health product businesses from capitalizing on the demand for CBD health products and, most importantly, is allowing an illicit market for CBD health products. Canada cannot ignore the economic opportunity presented by a CBD health product market. We urgently need to capitalize on our first mover advantage to the emerging global CBD market.
Clearly, Canadians want safe and effective CBD products, and Canadian companies want to innovate and create jobs by providing a safe and effective product to consumers. It is the government that is standing in the way. In fact, a report from the Institute of Fiscal Studies and Democracy identified clear economic benefits of a CBD health product market.
The second issue is the government proposal for changing how self-care products are regulated. Our members are very concerned by the approach proposed by officials. These changes are being presented to industry with a piecemeal approach that will result in extensive financial costs and disruption to the entire supply chain at a time when the economy needs to recover from the impact of COVID-19.
What are the consequences of this piecemeal approach? They are unnecessary financial strain on small and medium-sized businesses, higher prices on products for healthy families, a decline in product selection, and an increased environmental footprint, all things that I believe we can all agree should be avoided.
Thank you for your time today. I'd be happy to expand on any of these issues during member questions.