Health Protection Legislation

In 1998, Health Canada embarked on a process to overhaul the existing health protection legislation. In July 1998, it released a discussion paper entitled "Shared Responsibilities, Shared Vision: Renewing the Federal Health Protection Legislation." The issues raised in this paper were widely discussed during a series of public consultations held in major Canadian cities in the fall of 1998. Concern about the gradual erosion of the public health protection system in Canada was raised by a number of women's health and consumer groups.

A coalition was formed, calling itself the Working Group on Women and Health Protection (changed in 2002 to "Women and Health Protection"). Since that time, the Working Group has developed several position papers on health protection issues and their implications for women's health, encouraging Health Canada to tighten legislation, and reaching out to like-minded groups across the country and internationally.

Over the last few years, changes in health protection legislation have been introduced in small steps. Women and Health Protection continues to work to ensure that public safety is paramount in the decisions that are made and that the implications for women's health are clearly articulated in the debate.

Copyright ©2006-2010 Women and Health Protection
Supported by the Women's Health Contribution Program,
administered by the Gender and Health Unit of Health Canada.

In partnership with The Canadian Women's Health Network.