Canadian Medical Association brief to Parliament on Canadian Environmental Protection Act

Section 32(2)(b) This provision is contrary to the traditional medical dictum of Ilfirst do no harm". The most likely cause of delay on the part of the department will be administrative inefficiency or extra concern regarding the substance in q estion. It would therefore be much more appropriate to create a system that would keep the potentially-offending substance out until a decision was actually made. As physicians, we shudder at the thought that such a system could prevail for the marketing of pharmaceutical products: that is, the manufacturer would be allowed to sell a product unless the Health Protection Branch objected within a stated period of time following application.