Prior to
the defeat of Bill C-287, which would have given Canadians a mandatory
labelling framework for GE foods, the Liberal government requested that
the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health study the labelling
issue and provide them with policy recommendations. The Standing Committee
recently said it would accept requests for appearances and submissions
of documents after January 1st, 2002.
The Standing Committee
plans to study several items such as health and safety concerns associated
with GE foods; reports and interim reports of expert panels; definition
of genetic modification; threshold and tolerance levels; and international
models for regulations.
You can forward
a request for appearance before the Standing Committee on Health by
writing a letter to:
House of Commons
Standing Committee on Health
c/o Gary Sokolyk, Clerk
House of Commons
Room 642, Wellington Building
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6
Fax: 613-947-9670
(if you fax your letter, also mail them a hard copy)
* In your letter,
describe your organization and the stakeholders it represents.
* State that your
organization would like to have representatives (do mention if any of
them are from foreign countries) appear before the committee in regard
to policy recommendations for the labelling of GE foods. You should
also state your position and the themes you want to discuss, which support
your position. To increase your chances of being selected, provide specific,
relevant examples that demonstrate the unique work or expertise you
or your organization would bring to the Health Committee.
* You may attach
all documents you want to see submitted for the committee to review
or present them at a later date.
It is the committee's
policy to reimburse travel and lodging expense (with certain limitations)
for all of the people they choose to hear from.
If your organization
decides not to appear before the committee because of time constraints
or lack of resources, you can submit written comments to the committee
for the record.
Send a copy of your
letter requesting to appear before the committee to the Biotechnology
Caucus of the Canadian Environmental Network (CEN), which is coordinating
involvement of non-governmental organizations in the Health Committee
hearings on labelling. Send the copy of you letter to:
Biotechnology Caucus
Canadian Environmental Network (CEN)
300-945 Wellington Street
Ottawa, ON K1Y 2X5
Email: aaronk@isn.net
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