Jump to content
Jambands.ca

C-36


SaggyBalls

Recommended Posts

On June 9, 2010, Bill C-36 was introduced for first reading in the House of Commons. A copy of the Bill can be found at:

http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?DocId=4606148&Language=e&Mode=1&File=32 – 1.

Bill C-36 is almost identical to Bill C-52 which had been introduced into the 39th Parliament on April 8, 2008, and to Bill C-6 which had been introduced into the 40th Parliament on January 29, 2009.

Summary of Points Discussed In This Paper

[color:red]The rule of law is the fundamental underpinning of a free society. Sacrificing the rule of law always leads to tyranny and loss of freedom.

The Bill represents an unprecedented change in the powers of the state vis-à-vis the citizen. The rule of law and private property rights are all but extinguished in the area of consumer products.

Although not applicable to natural health products, the Bill still poses a threat. The Bill gives Health Canada inspectors the very powers that concerned citizens in Bill C-51.

Bill C-36 is being promoted as necessary to protect our families. However, [color:red]under the existing law the State can already:

ban or restrict any consumer product under threat of million dollar fines and two year jail sentences under the Hazardous Products Act;

make immediate orders banning or restricting any consumer product if there is a significant risk to health or safety. In addition to fines and imprisonment for non-compliance, the State can apply to the Court for an injunction which brings police enforcement of the order;

obtain a search warrant and seize non-compliant products, and

prosecute for criminal negligence or homicide under the Criminal Code. In some cases this can result in penalties of life imprisonment.

The real change brought about by Bill C-36 is not that it protects consumers, as the cur-rent law already grants the State significant powers to protect safety. Rather [[color:red]b]the real change is the abolition of procedural safeguards citizens currently enjoy.

[color:red]Bill C-36 abolishes the law of trespass thus allowing the State access onto private property without any legal recourse.

Bill C-36 for the first time in Canadian history allows warrants to be issued to search private homes without evidence of criminal wrong doing.

Bill C-36 allows the State to seize property without a Court order, without reporting the seizure to a Court, and for an indefinite period.

Bill C-36 allows the State to assume control over the movement of private property without a Court order and without a safety concern.

The search and seizure powers in Bill C-36 are probably unconstitutional for violating the right found in section 8 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to be free from unreasonable search and seizure.

Persons can be fined and have property forfeited to the State for administrative violations. [color:red]Persons so charged have no right to have a Court determine their guilt or innocence. Guilt is determined by the Minister. There is no defence of due diligence or of honest but mistaken belief. There does not have to be a safety risk to be charged with an administrative offence. The Minister who determines your guilt or innocence can keep seized property if he/she finds you guilty.

Directors, officers and managers are personally liable for violations by their company. Despite the possibility of multi-million dollar fines and long prison sentences, there is no right to cross-examine key witnesses.

Directors, officers and managers can be saddled with debt years after they have left the company.

Orders for recall or which take control of private property are exempted from the procedural safeguards of (1) review and (2) publication found in the Statutory Instruments Act.

All businesses manufacturing, selling or distributing consumer products are saddled with additional red tape and expense regardless of whether or not there is a safety concern.

Retailers and distributors of consumer products become liable for product labelling and instructions.

There may be a significant conflict of interest. Health Canada may benefit financially from fines and the seizure of private property.

Some consumer products such as sporting goods may have to be removed from the market for violating the safety provisions of the Bill.

The Provinces are allowing the Federal Government to regulate in the Provincial area of property and civil rights. This represents a significant transfer of power from the Provinces to the Federal Government.

[color:red]The federal cabinet can incorporate documents from foreign governments or organizations as law by referring to them in regulations. This will remove Parliamentary scrutiny on issues that could fundamentally change the ground rules for the consumer product industry.

Trade agreements and foreign laws can be adopted without Parliamentary scrutiny.

NHPPA

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 months later...

nhppa.org

For Immediate Release- November, 2010

HEALTH CANADA’S NEW POWERS PUT CANADIANS AT RISK OF TRESPASS AND RAIDS

- WILL BE CHALLENGED IN COURT

CANADA --A federal bill purporting to make Canadians safer will actually make them less safe and - if passed -will likely face a barrage of constitutional challenges in the courts, according to a leading constitutional lawyer and a growing number of concerned citizens, health consumer groups and legislators.

Bill C-36: The Canada Consumer Product Safety Act gives Health Canada sweeping new powers, shifts control to bureaucrats, and puts Canadians at risk of trespass and raids by Health Canada--without requiring government officials to go through the courts. The bill has passed 3rd reading in the House of Commons and is now before the Senate.

Shawn Buckley, Kamloops-based constitutional lawyer and president of the Natural Health Products Protection Association (NHPPA), originally challenged earlier versions of Bill C-36 (Bills 52 & 6) that died due to widespread opposition from health consumers and vendors of natural health products and/or when earlier parliamentary sessions were dissolved or prorogued. Responding to outrage from consumers and vendors of natural health products, the government and MPs from all parties backed off, specifically exempting natural health products in the latest version - Bill C-36.

In spite of the exemption, Buckley remains concerned that Bill C-36 is still a 'Trojan horse' that will ultimately pave the way for government to re-introduce the same sweeping provisions that by-pass the rule of law to apply to Canada's natural health industry, which has been under siege since natural health products (NHP's) were included under the Food & Drug Act in 2004. As a result of Natural Health Product regulations, thousands of products have become unavailable to consumers, restricting access to healthcare alternatives.

"Bill C-36 is sold to us as necessary for our safety," says Buckley, "but if I'm correct, this bill represents one of the most unsafe legal moves - certainly in my lifetime."

Senators Elaine McCoy (PC), Joseph Day (Lib), Celine Hervieux-Payette (Lib), George Furey (Lib) and Tommy Banks (Lib) - all lawyers - have expressed concern that the bill is a breach of civil liberties and will probably not stand up to what will likely be many court challenges, should it pass. Banks says “it is undoing 400 years of common law."

Fasken Martineau, one of the country's leading law firms, has also expressed concern about the impact of Bill C-36. Peter Pliszka, a partner with Fasken Martineau's Toronto office, says "Bill C-36 will introduce a revolutionary upheaval in product regulation in Canada", and says it goes against 140 years of Canadian history.

Buckley is giving a cross-country lecture tour--Freedom in Crisis---November 18 to December 7 to alert the public about the potential threat to rights and freedoms that Bill C-36 poses, as well as to the negative impact the Natural Health Product Regulations will have on NHP businesses and consumers as the regulations come into full force. Buckley will also be providing a guide for NHP businesses to help vendors understand their rights and protect their businesses in the event of a Health Canada raid.

The tour begins in Nelson BC, November 18, and will include Toronto, Moncton, Winnipeg, Penticton, Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton.

The Natural Health Products Protection Association (NHPPA) is dedicated to protecting access to Natural Health Products and Dietary Supplements.

-30-

See tour schedule on www.nhppa.org. For more information or interview contact Julia Rickert at 416.906.6974 or email jrickert@nhppa.org

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

here's a link to a pdf that points out quite a bit that the senate overlooked as it ignored its role as the conscience of our Government.

Discussion Paper from nhppa.org

The bill was passed into law awhile back but perhaps the Natural Health Products Protection Association will get some steam and suspend this unnecessary statute with enough support from concerned Canadians, as it opens up quite a bit for a corrupt politician to sell us out even more.

Edited by Guest
Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...