Formed 1996 Employees 12,000 Website www.hc-sc.gc.ca | Jurisdiction Canada Minister responsible Jane Philpott | |
Type Department responsible for national public health | ||
Health Canada (French: Santé Canada) is the department of the government of Canada with responsibility for national public health.
Contents
- Branches regions and agencies
- Ministers and officers
- Branches
- Agencies
- Offices
- Laboratories
- Compliance and Enforcement
- International collaboration
- Related legislation
- Criticisms
- References
The current Minister of Health is Jane Philpott, a Liberal Member of Parliament appointed to the position by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Branches, regions and agencies
Health Canada has the following branches, regions and agencies:
Ministers and officers
Branches
Agencies
Offices
Laboratories
Compliance and Enforcement
The Compliance and Enforcement Directorate supports Health Canada's mission to help Canadians maintain and improve their health by enforcing the laws and regulations related to the production, distribution, importation, sale and/or use of consumer products, tobacco, pest control products, drugs, biologics, medical devices and natural health products.
The Directorate conducts inspections and investigations to ensure products are safe, of good quality, and properly labelled and distributed, in order to better protect Canadians from potentially harmful products and consumables.
Compliance and Enforcement Directorate is divided into six distinct programs:
International collaboration
In December 2016, Health Canada approved the purchase of a new botulism antitoxin called Botulism Antitoxin Heptavalent (BAT) from the American-based company Emergent Biosolutions, a global specialty biopharmaceutical company. The Public Health Agency of Canada has identified botulism as a likely biological terrorist threat.
Related legislation
Acts for which Health Canada has Total or Partial Responsibility
Acts for which Health Canada is Involved or has a Special Interest
Criticisms
An editorial published by the Canadian Medical Association Journal has called for Health Canada to more strictly regulate natural health products. The editorial cited weaknesses in current legislation that allow natural health products to make baseless health claims, to neglect side-effects research prior to products reaching market, and to be sold without being evaluated by Health Canada.
On September 10, 2012 a report on CBC television questioned the safety of drugs sold in North America . The Brandon Sun reported that Health Canada is secretive about inspections about drugs manufactured overseas, leaving the public unsure about the safety of these drugs.