News Release

1997-35
May 22, 1997

Health Minister announces membership of Advisory Panel on Herbal Remedies

OTTAWA - Health Minister David Dingwall released today the membership of the Advisory Panel on Herbal Remedies. The Chair of the Panel will be Dr. Frank Chandler, Director, College of Pharmacy, and Professor of Pharmacy (Phytochemistry and Herbal Remedies), Dalhousie University.

"Complementary medicines have an important role to play in the health of Canadians today," said Mr. Dingwall. "The Advisory Panel will play a key role in providing advice to Health Canada on how to ensure that the medicines available to Canadians are safe and effective in preventing and treating disease in Canada. These medicines should be widely accessible to all Canadians if they are proven to be safe and do what they claim."

Minister Dingwall emphasized that Health Canada will consult with affected parties, including professional practitioners of allopathic and complementary medicine, the various sectors of the therapeutic products industry, consumers and health sector academics. "This will be an open and transparent process," he affirmed. "We will ensure that everyone who wants to do so has ample opportunity to express their views. Our goal is to protect the health of Canadians, not to limit their access to safe and effective medicines."

The role of the Advisory Panel will be to advise on issues relating to the appropriate regulatory framework for herbal remedies, including product licensing, establishment licensing, cost recovery, international harmonization, and other issues that may need to be addressed. It will also make recommendations on the design and conduct of consultations with stakeholders on how best to ensure that Canadians have access to safe and effective products and to balanced, credible information on their use. The Panel will hold its first meeting in June.

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Steve Jeffery
Health Canada
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