The Committee was reminded that Health Canada does not have legislated jurisdiction over the importation for personal use. The Food and Drugs Act gives the department the power to intervene and regulate only when the importation is for the purpose of sale. Legislative changes to the Act would be needed in order to regulate the importation for personal use of NHPs. The Committee was also told that other countries also allow importation for personal use of unapproved products. For example, Australia allows such importation but there are some restrictions on certain products such as narcotics.
Individuals can import up to three months' supply at any one time and up to five shipments per year.
The United Kingdom and Germany also allow importation for personal use with restrictions on certain products. The Committee feels that most of the concerns raised with respect to the personal importation policy are related to the fact that certain products are not available in Canada rather than to the policy itself. We have adopted the principle that controls on NHPs must not unduly restrict access to consumers and believe that many of the concerns will be alleviated when more NHP products gain access to the Canadian market. In many cases, consumers will no longer need to obtain their products from foreign suppliers. In addition, this should remedy many of the disadvantages faced by the Canadian industry.