In the recent spate of provincial in-person retail closures to slow the transmission of covid-19, the Quebec government has left to the discretion of retailers the determination of what products are within the broad categories of “health” and/or “hygiene”. These categories, along with “food”, “repairs” etc., allow products to continue to be sold as “essential” products within allowable in-person retail. This has resulted in a subjective and inconsistent treatment for many of our industry’s products, as well as a reluctance by retailers to make determinations for fear of being contradicted by gov’t inspectors.
Consequently, and with the encouragement of Quebec officials, CA issued Guidance (English French) to inform these determinations objectively based upon the statutory definitions of our products in the federal Food & Drugs Act. Following concerns with some specific products related by our members, we have reached out directly to Quebec’s responsible Minister. We have provided further information that supports the health role of products which “alter the complexion, skin, hair or teeth” (e.g. make-up, hair dyes, etc.), both with respect to managing skin related conditions (scars, burns, appearance related effects of cancer and its treatment) and mental well-being.
Should the Quebec government concur with our objective approach, we will revise and distribute our guidance to further assist retailers and public health officials in administering the Quebec retail lock-down rules. This same approach can be utilized in other provinces as required.
Our letter to the Quebec Minister of Economy & Innovation, along with supporting materials can be found here:
Cosmetics Alliance Letter to Minister Fitzgibbon – Jan 18 2021
Cosmetics Alliance Letter to Minister Fitzgibbon – Jan 18 2021 FR
Ref 4 Recover your smile Richard_et_al-2018-Psycho-Oncology Highlighted
