Health Canada
7 min read
Health Canada (French: Santé Canada) is the department of the government of Canada with responsibility for national public health. The current Minister of Health is Ginette Petitpas Taylor, a Liberal Member of Parliament appointed to the position by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. It was created in 1993 when the former Canadian federal department Health and Welfare Canada split into two separate departments, Health Canada and Human Resources and Labour Canada.
The department is also responsible numerous federal health-related agencies, such as the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the Public Health Agency of Canada, among others. These organizations help to ensure compliance with federal law in a variety of healthcare, agriculture and pharmaceutical activities. They also collaborate and partner extensively with numerous other federal and provincial departments and agencies in order to ensure the safety of food, health products and pharmaceutical drugs as well as regulate facilities involved in health research and pharmaceutical drug manufacturing and testing.
Contents
- 1 Branches, regions and agencies
- 1.1 Ministers and officers
- 1.2 Branches
- 1.3 Agencies
- 2 Offices
- 3 Laboratories
- 4 Compliance and Enforcement
- 5 International collaboration
- 6 Related legislation
- 7 Criticisms
- 8 See also
- 9 References
- 10 External links
Branches, regions and agencies[edit]
Health Canada has the following branches, regions and agencies:[2]
Ministers and officers[edit]
- Minister of Health
- Deputy Minister – Simon Kennedy[3]
- Associate Deputy Minister – Christine Donoghue[4]
- Chief Public Health Officer
Branches[edit]
- Audit & Accountability Bureau
- Chief Financial Officer Branch
- Communications and Public Affairs Branch
- Corporate Services Branch
- Departmental Secretariat
- Healthy Environments & Consumer Safety Branch
- Health Products & Food Branch
- Legal Services
- Regulatory Operations and Regions Branch
- Strategic Policy Branch
Agencies[edit]
- Canadian Institutes of Health Research
- Pest Management Regulatory Agency
- Public Health Agency of Canada
- Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System
- Canadian Food Inspection Agency
- Patented Medicine Prices Review Board
Offices[edit]
- Office of the Cameron Visiting Chair
- Office of the Chief Dental Officer
- The National Office of the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System
- Nurse Recruitment
- Public Services Health Medical Centre
Laboratories[edit]
- Laboratory Centre for Disease Control
- Sir Frederick G Banting Research Centre
Compliance and Enforcement[edit]
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:
- Canada Vigilance Program
- Controlled Substances Program
- Inspectorate Program
- Pesticide Control Program
- Product Safety Program
- Tobacco Control Program
[5]
International collaboration[edit]
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.[6]
Related legislation[edit]
Acts for which Health Canada has Total or Partial Responsibility[7]
- Assisted Human Reproduction Act
- Canada Health Act
- Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse Act
- Canadian Environmental Protection Act,
- Canadian Institutes of Health Research Act
- Controlled Drugs and Substances Act
- Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty Implementation Act
- Department of Health Act
- Financial Administration Act
- Fitness and Amateur Sport Act
- Food and Drugs Act
- Hazardous Materials Information Review Act
- Hazardous Products Act
- Patent Act
- Pest Control Products Act
- Pesticide Residue Compensation Act
- Quarantine Act
- Radiation Emitting Devices Act
- Tobacco Act & Act to Amend the Tobacco Act (Sponsorship)
Acts for which Health Canada is Involved or has a Special Interest
- Broadcasting Act
- Canada Labour Code
- Canada Medical Act
- Canada Shipping Act
- Canadian Food Inspection Agency Act
- Emergency Preparedness Act
- Energy Supplies Emergency Act
- Excise Tax Act
- Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act
- Feeds Act
- Immigration and Refugee Protection Act
- National Parks Act
- Nuclear Safety and Control Act
- Non-Smokers Health Act
- Queen Elizabeth II Canadian Research Fund Act
- Trade Marks Act
Criticisms[edit]
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.[8]
On 10 September 2012, a report on CBC television questioned the safety of drugs sold in North America.[9] 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.[10]
See also[edit]
- Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
- European Medicines Agency (EMA)
- Health care in Canada
- First Nations Health Authority
- Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW)
References[edit]
External links[edit]
- Health Canada
- Health Canada’s channel on YouTube
- Healthy Canadians
- Health Canada’s MedEffect Adverse Reaction Database
- Health Canada’s It’s Your Health section
- Health Canada Population Based Case Study
- Health Canada Guidances
- Analysis: New, Final Health Canada eCTD Guidance for Industry
- Update from the Regulators: Health Canada
Regional and
municipal
- Abbotsford Police Department
- Barrie Police Service
- Belleville Police
- Brockville Police Service
- Calgary Police Service
- Camrose Police Service
- Central Saanich Police Service
- Cobourg Police Service
- Charlottetown Police Department
- Delta Police Department
- Durham Regional Police Service
- Edmonton Police Service
- Fredericton Police
- Greater Sudbury Police Service
- Guelph Police Service
- Halifax Regional Police
- Halton Regional Police Service
- Hamilton Police Service
- Kativik Regional Police Force
- Kennebecasis Regional Police Force
- Kingston Police
- Lacombe Police Service
- Lethbridge Police Service
- London Police Service
- Medicine Hat Police Service
- Nelson Police Department
- New Westminster Police Department
- Niagara Regional Police Service
- North Bay Police Service
- Ottawa Police Service
- Peel Regional Police
- Port Moody Police Department
- Régie intermunicipale de police de la Rivière-du-Nord
- Regina Police Service
- Saanich Police Department
- Saskatoon Police Service
- Service de police de la Ville de Laval
- Service de police de l’agglomération de Longueuil
- Service de police de la Ville de Montréal
- Service de police de la Ville de Québec
- Saugeen Shores Police Service
- Shelburne Police Service
- South Simcoe Police Service
- Stratford Police Service
- Summerside Police Department
- Taber Police Service
- Thunder Bay Police Service
- Toronto Police Service
- Vancouver Police Department
- Victoria Police Department
- Waterloo Regional Police Service
- West Grey Police
- West Vancouver Police Department
- Windsor Police Service
- Winnipeg Police Service
- York Regional Police
Specialized
- Anishinabek Police Service
- Calgary Transit Public Safety and Enforcement Section
- Canadian Pacific Police Service
- Canadian National Police
- GO Transit Special Constables
- Integrated National Security Enforcement Teams
- Integrated Security Unit
- Niagara Parks Police Service
- Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service
- Ottawa By-law Services
- McMaster University Security Service
- Metro Vancouver Transit Police
- Transit Enforcement Unit
- Treaty Three Police Service
- University of Alberta Protective Services
- University of Toronto Campus Community Police Service
- YRT/Viva Special Constable Services
- Stl’atl’imx Tribal Police Service
Police Oversight
- Alberta Serious Incident Response Team
- Independent Investigations Office (BC)
- Independent Investigation Unit (MB)
- Serious Incident Response Team (NS)
- Special Investigations Unit and Office of the Independent Police Review Director (ON)
Defunct
- Alberta Provincial Police
- British Columbia Provincial Police
- Dominion Police
- Manitoba Provincial Police
- New Brunswick Highway Patrol
- New Brunswick Provincial Police
- Newfoundland Ranger Force
- North-West Mounted Police
- Nova Scotia Police
- Organized Crime Agency of British Columbia
- Prince Edward Island Provincial Police
- Saskatchewan Provincial Police
Manpower
- Aircraft Protective Officers
- Auxiliary constables
- Bylaw enforcement officers
- Firearms officers
- Peace officers
- Special constables
Boards
and Commissions
- Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
- Military Police Complaints Commission
- Toronto Police Services Board
- Police board
Lists
- Indigenous police in Canada
- List of law enforcement agencies in British Columbia
- List of law enforcement agencies in Canada
- List of police firearms in Canada
- Provincial correctional services in Canada
Museums
- Ontario Provincial Police Museum
- RCMP Heritage Centre
- Rotary Museum of Police and Corrections
- Vancouver Police Museum
- Winnipeg Police Museum
