Further to our last update, CA and our allied stakeholder group have been working with the Health Minister’s Policy Advisor to advance a Cosmetics Animal Testing Ban as quickly as possible. It is our expectation that the necessary amendments to the Food & Drugs Act will be brought forward through either the Budget Bill or the Regulatory Modernization Bill and will be based on the following principles:
- Building blocks of a Canadian ban on cosmetic animal testing align with the principles of the European Union ban as well as work within the context of the Canadian regulatory framework; and
- Health Canada draft the necessary legislative/regulatory amendments to ensure that they are administratively workable, do not result in unintended consequences, and are ultimately supported by the Government.
CA recently had the opportunity with a Globe & Mail reporter to provide background on the issue and industry’s position. We stressed the fact that industry and animal protection advocates have proactively come together and aligned to the principles for a cosmetics animal testing ban in Canada. We indicated that legislation needs to be tabled, in some form, as soon as possible and certainly in advance of Canada hosting the Animal Alternatives World Congress in August 2023 to avoid the risk of being embarrassed on this global stage.
While the story indicates that “Health Canada said in a statement that a broad consultation would have to precede the two sets of proposed regulatory changes this year. It added that no changes are expected to be finalized before August, 2023.” – CA wants to clarify with members that this referenced consultation and regulatory process pertains to the Gazette I Notice of Intent on promoting reduced reliance on animal testing in the New Substances Notification Regulations and actually may have been what precipitated the article. To be clear, this is a separate process from the pending cosmetics legislation and the reporter unfortunately confused the two issues.
CA will be meeting again soon with our stakeholder group and Health Canada department staff to get a comprehensive update on the proposed ban, legislative vehicle, and formal announcement.
CA will continue to keep members updated on developments.
