OTTAWA, Ontario – The government of Canada announced new rules that regulate veterinary drugs as part of the country’s fight against antimicrobial resistance.
The rule changes complement other ongoing initiatives that promote the prudent use of antimicrobial drugs in animals. These initiatives include collaborating with provincial and territorial health authorities, the pharmaceutical industry, veterinarians, food animal producers and other stakeholders to promote the prudent use of antimicrobial drugs in animals.
The changes to Canada’s Food and Drug Regulations include:
- Restricting the personal importation of certain veterinary drugs for food-producing animals;
- Requiring companies to follow stricter guidelines to ensure the quality of their active pharmaceutical ingredients;
- Requiring manufacturers, importers and compounders of veterinary drugs to report annual sales of medically important antimicrobial drugs to Health Canada to enable better surveillance; and
- Introducing a more flexible and risk-appropriate framework to make importation simpler for low-risk veterinary health products, including products that may be used as alternatives to antimicrobial drugs.
“Antimicrobial resistance is a serious issue both domestically and internationally. An increasing number of drugs are no longer effectively treating infections because of antimicrobial resistance, which means that human health is at risk,” said The Honorable Jane Philpott, Minister of Health. “Changes to the Food and Drug Regulations introduced today will help protect Canadians from this growing global public health concern.”
The rule changes have been published in the Canada Gazette, Part II.
