International Trade Committee on Nov. 2nd, 2023

[André Côté]

Not exactly.

Disinfectants are regulated in Canada—period. You carry a DIN and you get to demonstrate and register your product, but not according to the new rules. The new rules align with the rule that already exists in the U.S. That's the problem.

Currently, our regulatory structure for product registration is not equivalent to that of the United States. What we are asking of Canadian companies today is different from what the new regulations will require of them. The new regulations are modelled on and aligned with the U.S. regulations. That's really where the problem lies.

Once everyone is on an equal footing in this respect, there will be further discussions, as other technical points will likely be raised. In our view, the major point that justifies a moratorium is the fact that Canadian industry must be given the time to get up to speed, to comply with Canadian regulations. Currently, it's not true that Canadian regulations are equivalent to U.S. regulations.

[Richard Cannings, NDP, South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC]

It's the new rules that Canadian companies are facing. They have to do some extra work, and that's where they need to catch up.

[André Côté]

That's right. American and European companies don't have to do this extra work, because foreign regulations have already been established and are roughly the same as the proposed new Canadian regulations.

[Richard Cannings, NDP, South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC]

This might be a very naive question because I know nothing of this.

You talked about the differences in the process of registering your products here in Canada. You said it was a lengthy process and it costs a lot of money, whereas you seemed to say it was a much cheaper and shorter process in the United States.

[André Côté]

No, the process is.... I will never comment on the process in the U.S.

When an American product is submitted for registration in Canada, this implies that the product is already approved in the United States. The regulations mean that this product will be approved more quickly and at lower cost in Canada.

[Richard Cannings, NDP, South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC]

It's the process now that.... If we go to allowing products that have gone through the EPA process, that process of getting it into Canada is cheaper and shorter than the Canadian process—not the EPA process.

[André Côté]

Yes, that's right.

If an application for a U.S. product is submitted in Canada, the registration process will take just three months, if it meets the requirements, of course. In addition, the fee will be $3,500 instead of $10,000 to $12,000. That's a huge difference.

[Richard Cannings, NDP, South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC]

Mr. Parker, I'm just wondering if you could comment on all of this. If I understand it, your company does similar things to the companies that Monsieur Côté is involved with.

Are you concerned about the way things are set up in this new regime?

[Stephen Parker]

My concern is just the timeline. In the long run, it's going to be less expensive for us. We're going to have access to new things more easily.

In the short run, I worry that companies in Canada will still be trying to take their old registrations and get the new version of them, but that won't have been done. Then the U.S. people will be coming in and it will only take them three months.

[Richard Cannings, NDP, South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC]

You have the same concerns that Monsieur Côté has.

[Stephen Parker]

Yes. It's not a hundred per cent, but mostly yes.

[Richard Cannings, NDP, South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC]

Okay. I'm gradually getting there.

Mr. Harrington, you represent a large sector. We've been talking about reciprocity here. We're allowing registrations through the EPA to be used.

How serious do you think this reciprocity issue is? Should Canada be seeking reciprocity when going into regulatory changes like this before they happen?

[Gerry Harrington]

There's nothing I would love better than to see FDA allow these foreign decisions, such as those by Health Canada.

I want to correct one thing however. Over 50% of our members are SMEs.

Yes, I think if we want to look at it purely from a trade point of view, the industry would love to see the same kind of use of foreign decisions happening in the United States. However, from a consumer standpoint, that's not a reason to not encourage that and to not provide leadership, frankly. Other countries...we're not alone in this approach.

[Richard Cannings, NDP, South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC]

I just wanted to make sure. I didn't mean you just represented big companies. You are a big organization is what I meant.

[Gerry Harrington]

Yes.

[Richard Cannings, NDP, South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC]

I'm done.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Thank you very much, Mr. Cannings.

Now we go to Mr. Baldinelli for five minutes, please.

[Tony Baldinelli, Conservative, Niagara Falls, ON]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you to the witnesses for being here.

Thank you, Mr. Parker, for agreeing to come from Niagara Falls. Flexo is a long-established company in the riding of Niagara Falls. Thank you for your continued confidence in having your manufacturing and distributing company located in our riding. Thank you for your company, which employs 85 people.

I asked that you be one of our witnesses and come forward because I thought you could bring that unique perspective both of the distributor and manufacturer and of a smaller-sized enterprise. I think this builds on what my colleague Mr. Canning was talking about—and, maybe to some degree, Mr. Côté. You indicated some of the concerns you may have with regard to clearing those registrations with Health Canada. Once these regulations are posted, they come into effect in a year.

Do you have those concerns with regard to backlogs and getting re-registrations in time, as opposed to just simply bringing in product?

[Stephen Parker]

I do. I'm not a regulatory expert. I know it takes longer than it should right now. There could be as many as 700 to 1,000 sanitizers that are not currently registered that would need to be registered under the new law.

I think it's still positive, because in our world, sanitizers are kind of out there. They're not registered well enough. Disinfectant cleaners are registered very well. Sanitizers are not. It needs to be done. It's just there's a lot of work that would have to be done.

[Tony Baldinelli, Conservative, Niagara Falls, ON]

Quickly, also in our conversations, the updated regulations and the “use of foreign decisions” pathway, for example, would allow for an easier method to bring in new products. In previous testimony, some other witnesses talked about it allowing for easier processes for those who want to sublicense and bring in raw materials, such as you.

I was wondering if you could explain how that process works and how that assists you as you develop your products.

[Stephen Parker]

Sure.

Here's a really good example. When I realized I was coming here today, I reached out to some industry people I know. One was from a company we buy raw materials from out of the U.S. We have a very good relationship with them. They said to me that there are at least two or three different products they know my business could sell and do a great job with, but they're currently not registered in Canada. Their company has decided, for the time being, that it isn't going to be worthwhile.

These are unique products. In our industry, with disinfectants, we talk in terms of what a kill is—what germs it kills and how quickly it works. If you have a product that works in two minutes versus three minutes, you have an advantage in the marketplace. Those are the sorts of products that would be available to us. They're ready. They're in the U.S. market and we need them.

[Tony Baldinelli, Conservative, Niagara Falls, ON]

Mr. Parker, you talked about labelling issues as well. I don't think that's gotten enough conversation and coverage. You're saying the rules that exist currently are asking for too much data for the end-user, typically.

Could that information be supplied as the material data safety sheets instead of as the labelling?

[Stephen Parker]

The rule of thumb was that, if you had product on your data sheets, you needed to have that same information on your labels. It doesn't make sense, because when that was put into place years and years ago, there wasn't the access to the Internet that there is now. We don't need all the information.

When you get a drug from the pharmacy, it says, “Take one twice a day.” I wouldn't say we have to be that simplistic, but I feel that now there's definitely too much information for end-users.

[Tony Baldinelli, Conservative, Niagara Falls, ON]

Ultimately, the workplace would have those material data safety sheets on site for the employees to reference, but for ease of use, for that person who needs it, they just need to know what it is, where they can use it and what it's for. Later on, if they want to check for more detail, they can do that.

[Stephen Parker]

That's my opinion—