The full Hansard of the third reading second debate on May 11^th can be found here: English | French

Audio recording: May 11, 2017

Speakers were:

• Senator Petitclerc
• Senator Dagenais

This portion of the debate on S5 was focused on changes relating to Tobacco packaging. Senator Dagenais stated his position:

“Here are the reasons I will not be voting in favour of Bill S-5. The first is out of solidarity with the law enforcement community, which is fighting organized crime. The second is that provisions to remove the manufacturer’s logo from cigarettes seem totally useless to me in the context of this bill, which does have some useful things in it. The third is that I don’t see an urgent need to pass this bill; instead, I think these measures should be consistent with Bill C-45, which is about legalizing and regulating the sale of marijuana. I will not be voting in favour of Bill S-5 unless you are prepared to take out the parts about logos and such.”

On motion of Senator Day, in the name of Senator Cordy, debate adjourned.
The Senate adjourned until Tuesday, May 16, 2017

The full Hansard of the third reading and debate from May 10^th can be found here: English – French

Audio recording: May 10 2017

Speakers were:

• Senator Petitclerc
• Senator Seidman
• Senator Martin (Deputy Leader of the Opposition)
• Senator Mégie
• Senator Dean

Remarks by Senator Petitclerc – Flavours

Honourable senators, early on during the committee hearings we were able to set the record straight on this point. The blends of chemicals that create certain popular flavours, like blueberry cheesecake, for example, and apple pie, would not be prohibited by Bill S-5. Let’s be clear: Bill S-5 would prohibit the promotion of flavours that appeal to youth.

Even with this clarification, some witnesses expressed the view that the potential for desserts or other similar flavours to appeal to youth was not a good enough reason for prohibiting their promotion. These witnesses indicated that it was important for users of vaping products to have accurate descriptions of the flavours they would be purchasing.

It is clear that vaping products are still harmful and addictive, and especially to youth. At the same time, they may be beneficial to the health of smokers if vaping products help them quit smoking or switch completely to a less harmful source of nicotine. This is why this approach on flavour is exactly the right thing to do. This is what some people would call a win-win situation. Adults get their flavours; youth stay protected.

As ECTA stated in both our presentation to the SOCI committee, and our written submission, protecting youth and providing adults with accurate product information are not mutually exclusive. It remains our position that the amendment we requested would have achieved the same level of youth protection, while allowing the communication of accurate flavour descriptions within age restricted vape shops.

Requested amendment from the ECTA submission:

30.‍48 (1) No person shall promote a vaping product set out in column 2 of Schedule 3, including by means of the packaging, through an indication or illustration, including a brand element, that could cause a person to believe that the product has a flavour set out in column 1, in a place to which young persons have access.

Sections 30.41, 30.45, and 30.46 will ensure that this change would only permit customer access to descriptions in schedule 3 via age restricted vapour product shops. Regulations can further define the manner in which these descriptions may be provided.

Remarks by Senator Petitclerc – Sharing scientific information on vaping

Some of you may be wondering why, as some people have said, Bill S-5 limits the sharing of scientific information that might help convince smokers to switch to a less harmful source of nicotine.

Honourable senators, I can assure you that that is not the case. Bill S-5 does not prohibit the publication of scientific work in regard to vaping products. What Bill S-5 prohibits is using scientific work as a means of commercial promotion marketing that is directed at consumers.

This means that the vaping industry can share, and hopefully will share, legitimate scientific reports about vaping products in their entirety with their clients, but they cannot use parts of a scientific report as a marketing or promotional tool for their product. That seems fair and balanced to me.

Some of you may be reassured by that point but may be wondering why Bill S-5 would prohibit the vaping industry from telling their clients that vaping, while harmful, is less harmful than smoking. We certainly did hear that concern from vaping consumer advocates, the vaping industry and some public health experts.

In fact, Dr. John Britton, a professor at the University of Nottingham and the Director of the United Kingdom’s Centre for Tobacco and Alcohol Studies, specifically requested the opportunity to provide testimony on Bill S-5, because of the clause that would prohibit making comparisons between the use of vaping products and smoking. Dr. Britton indicated that he thought it was a “no-brainer” to switch from smoking to a less hazardous product.

Dr. David Hammond from the School of Public Health and Health Systems at the University of Waterloo also noted that there is ample evidence to state right now that vaporized products will be less harmful than smoked tobacco products. But he also stressed that they are liable to produce harm.

Both of these academics indicated support for the vaping industry to be able to include strictly regulated comparative claims on their vaping products, like “Harmful but less harmful than smoking.”

This expert opinion convinced me, as it convinced many of my colleagues, which is why I was pleased to bring forward an amendment to Bill S-5 to address this concern. This amendment was adopted by the committee.

Authorized comparative claims on vaping products will be defined during the regulation development stage. This process cannot begin until the bill has been passed and receives Royal Assent. The development of regulations is expected to include public and stakeholder consultation.

The Senate adjourned until Thursday, May 11, 2017

Original report from the Senate Committee website is available here: https://sencanada.ca/en/committees/report/39818/42-1

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE

Tuesday, May 2, 2017

The Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology has the honour to present its

TWELFTH REPORT

Your committee, to which was referred Bill S-5, An Act to amend the Tobacco Act and the Non-smokers’ Health Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts, has, in obedience to the order of reference of March 9, 2017, examined the said bill and now reports the same with the following amendments:

1.  Clause 3, page 2: Replace line 26 with the following:

“part of tobacco, including tobacco leaves. It includes papers, tubes and filters in-”.

Original as follows:
tobacco product means a product made in whole or in part of tobacco and includes papers, tubes and filters intended for use with that product, a device, other than a water pipe, that is necessary for the use of that product and the parts that may be used with the device.‍

2.  Clause 36, pages 22 and 23:

(a)  On page 22, replace lines 16 and 17 with the following:

“30.5 Subject to the regulations, no manufacturer or retailer shall give or offer to give

(a) a vaping product; or

(b) a thing that displays a vaping product-related brand element if

(i) the thing is associated with young persons,

(ii) there are reasonable grounds to believe that the thing could be appealing to young persons, or

(iii) the thing is associated with a way of life such as one that includes glamour, recreation, excitement, vitality, risk or daring.”; and

Original as follows:
30.‍5 No manufacturer or retailer shall give or offer to give a vaping product.
(b)  on page 23, add the following after line 10:

“30.701 No person shall promote a vaping product or a vaping product-related brand element by means of advertising done in a manner that is contrary to the regulations.”.
Original as follows:
30.‍7 No person shall promote a vaping product or a vaping product-related brand element by means of advertising unless it conveys, in the prescribed form and manner, the information required by the regulations about the product and its emissions and about the health hazards and health effects arising from the use of the product and from its emissions.

3. Clause 38, page 24:

(a)  Replace line 20 with the following:

“30.43 (1) Subject to subsection (3) and the regulations, no person shall promote a vaping product, in-”; and

(b) replace line 25 with the following:

“(2) Subject to subsection (3) and the regulations, no person shall promote a vaping product, including”.

4.  Clause 39, page 26: Replace line 24 with the following:

“30.43 (1) Subject to subsection (3) and the regulations, no person shall promote a vaping product, in-”.

Original as follows:
30.‍43 (1) No person shall promote a vaping product, including by means of the packaging, in a manner that could cause a person to believe that health benefits may be derived from the use of the product or from its emissions.
(2) No person shall promote a vaping product, including by means of the packaging, by comparing the health effects arising from the use of the product or from its emissions with those arising from the use of a tobacco product or from its emissions.

5. Clause 40, page 26: Replace line 30 with the following:

“after section 30.701:”.

Original as follows:
30.‍71 No person shall furnish or promote a vaping product if a tobacco product-related brand element is displayed on the vaping product, on its package or in the advertising of the vaping product.

6. Clause 44, pages 28 and 29:

(a) On page 28,

(i) add the following after line 17:

“(f.01) respecting exceptions to the prohibition under section 30.5;”, and

Original as follows:
(f.‍1) for the purposes of section 30.‍42, prohibiting or respecting the use of terms, expressions, logos, symbols or illustrations in order to prevent the public from being deceived or misled with respect to the health effects or health hazards of vaping products or their emissions;

(ii) add the following after line 22:

“(g.1) respecting, for the purposes of section 30.701, the advertising of vaping products and vaping product-related brand elements;”; and

Original as follows:
(g) respecting, for the purposes of section 30.‍7, the information about vaping products and their emissions and about the health hazards and health effects arising from the use of the products and from their emissions that must be conveyed in advertising;

(b) on page 29,

(i) replace line 3 with the following:

“(f.2) respecting exceptions to the prohibitions under subsections 30.43(1) and (2);

(f.3) respecting, for the purposes of section 30.45, the”, and

(ii) replace lines 8 to 10, with the following:

“(6) Paragraph 33(f.2) of the Act is replaced by the following:

(f.2) respecting exceptions to the prohibitions under subsections 30.43(1) and (2) and, for the purposes of subsection”.

Original as follows:
(f.‍2) respecting, for the purposes of section 30.‍45, the packaging of vaping products, including by prohibiting the display of terms, expressions, logos, symbols or illustrations on the package that could be appealing to young persons;

7.  Clause 61, page 39: Replace line 30 with the following:

“or (2), section 30.4 or 30.701 is guilty of an offence and liable on”.

Original as follows:
46 (1) Every retailer who contravenes subsection 15(1) or (2), 15.‍1(1) or (4) or 15.‍3(1) or (2) is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding $50,000.

8. Clause 63, page 40: Replace line 17 with the following:

“(2), 30.47(1) or (2) or 30.48(1) or (2) or section 30.701 or 30.71 is”.
Original as follows:
47 Every person who contravenes subsection 9.‍1(1) or (2) or 20(1), section 20.‍1, subsection 21(1), 22(1), 23(1) or (2), 23.‍1(1) or (2), 23.‍2(1) or (2) or 24(1) or (2), section 25, 27 or 30.‍1, subsection 30.‍2(1), 30.‍21(1) or 30.‍3(1) or (2), section 30.‍4 or 30.‍41, subsection 30.‍42(1) or 30.‍43(1) or (2), section 30.‍44, subsection 30.‍45(1) or (2), 30.‍46(1) or (2), 30.‍47(1) or (2) or 30.‍48(1) or (2) or section 30.‍71 is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding $500,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or to both.

9. New clause 67.1, page 41: Add the following after line 20:

“67.1 The Act is amended by adding the following after section 60:

PART VII.1

Review of the Act

60.1 (1) The Minister must, three years after the day on which this section comes into force and every two years after that, undertake a review of the provisions and operation of this Act.

(2) The Minister must, no later than one year after the day on which the review is undertaken, cause a report on the review to be tabled in each House of Parliament.”.

10. Clause 68, page 41: Add the following after line 24:

“(3) Schedule 1 to the Act is amended by adding the following after item 1.1:

Column 1

1.2

Column 2

– menthol (CAS 89-78-1)

– l-menthol (CAS 2216-51-5)

– l-menthone (CAS 14073-97-3)

– menthol

– cloves

Column 3

Tobacco Products

(4) Subsection (3) comes into force 180 days after Royal Assent.”

Your committee has also made certain observations, which are appended to this report.

Respectfully submitted,

KELVIN KENNETH OGILVIE

Chair

Observations to the Twelfth Report of the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology (Bill S-5)

During its study of Bill S-5, which addresses vaping and plain packaging, the committee heard from the vaping industry that their products are primarily intended to help smokers quit using tobacco.

Committee members are concerned that once Bill S-5 is in force and the sale of vaping products with and without nicotine are subject to the provisions in the bill, some people, although well-intentioned but without medical training, will be tempted to provide clinical advice for smoking cessation.

Therefore, the committee requests that the government consider this risk in the development of regulations following the adoption of Bill S-5, in particular, by emphasizing existing provisions that prohibit non-professionals from providing medical advice.

In addition, the committee notes that the implementation of Bill S-5 will rely on very detailed regulations. The committee heard that nicotine is a highly addictive substance and observes a need for rigorous, clear standards which include, but are not limited to, e-liquid ingredients quality standards, nicotine concentration level standards, accurate labelling and oversight; in addition the need for manufacturing standards of vaping devices and their component parts.

Finally, committee members heard testimony that the contraband tobacco trade continues apace in Canada. While the weight of the evidence presented suggests that the adoption of plain packaging would not have a profound effect on the incidence of contraband tobacco in Canada, it was made clear that more needs to be done to combat this illicit trade.

Therefore, the committee urges the government to consider measures to curtail the production of contraband tobacco, including regulations that would restrict the import of substances used primarily in the manufacture of cigarettes — such acetate tow — to licensed manufacturers.

Special “shout outs” to Aimee Whitefoot (As an Individual) and Thomas Kirsop (Alternatives & Options – Vapourizers and E-Liquids Ltd.) for submitting their briefs to the Committee for consideration.  Industry organizations, on their own, will not make the difference that we want. It takes the efforts of every industry and consumer organization AND individual efforts of every business and individual vaper.  On behalf of the ECTA, thank you Aimee and Thomas!

We know that there are MANY others out there that are doing their part and doing their best. We wish we could recognize each of you individually, but know that we also applaud and thank you for your efforts in shaping the future of the vaping industry and the overall future of vaping, globally.

Senate Committee Members Present:

• Kelvin Kenneth Ogilvie (Chair)
• Art Eggleton (Vice Chair)
• Judith Seidman
• Carolyn Stewart Olsen
• Paul E. McIntyre
• Chantal Petitclerc
• Nancy J. Hartling
• Percy Mockler
• Tony Dean
• Richard Neufeld
• Marilou McPhedran

Witnesses were divided into three (3) panels which consisted of the following individuals:

Panel 1 (10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.)

Health Canada

• Suzy McDonald, Director General, Tobacco Products Directorate
• Clause-by-clause consideration

Audio Playback for Panel 1 (English)

A video playback of the meeting is available in English (HERE) or French (HERE).

• Panel 1 Begins at 10:31:52

We will update this article to include any transcript and evidence presented to the committee when it becomes available.

Senate Committee Members Present:

• Kelvin Kenneth Ogilvie (Chair)
• Art Eggleton (Vice Chair)
• Chantal Petitclerc
• Judith Seidman
• Linda Frum
• Carolyn Stewart Olsen
• René Cormier
• Tony Dean
• Nancy J. Hartling
• Richard Neufeld
• Marilou McPhedran

Witnesses were divided into three (3) panels which consisted of the following individuals:

Panel 1 (4:15 p.m. – 5:45 p.m.)

Health Canada

• The Honourable Jane Philpott, P.C., M.P., Minister of Health
• Hilary Geller, Assistant Deputy Minister, Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch
• Denis Choinière, Director, Tobacco Products Regulatory Office, Tobacco Control Directorate
• Adam Doane, Senior Science Advisor, Tobacco Control Directorate
• Anne-Marie LeBel, Counsel, Health Canada Legal Services
• Suzy McDonald, Director General, Tobacco Products Directorate

Audio Playback for Panel 1 (English)

A video playback of the meeting is available in English (HERE) or French (HERE).

• Panel 1 Begins at 16:15:00

We will update this article to include any transcript and evidence presented to the committee when it becomes available.

Senate Committee Members Present:

• Kelvin Kenneth Ogilvie (Chair)
• Art Eggleton (Vice Chair)
• Chantal Petitclerc
• Judith Seidman
• Carolyn Stewart Olsen
• Nancy J. Hartling
• René Cormier
• Diane Griffin

Witnesses were divided into three (3) panels which consisted of the following individuals:

Panel 1 (1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.)

As an Individual

• John Britton, Director, UK Centre for Tobacco and Alcohol Studies
• David Hammond, Associate Professor, University of Waterloo

Audio Playback for Panel 1 (English)

Panel 2 (2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.)

Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

• Dr. Peter Selby, Clinician Scientist, Addictions Division

Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada

• Neil Collishaw, Research Director

Audio Playback for Panel 2 (English)

Panel 3 (3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.)

Canadian Cancer Society

• Rob Cunningham, Senior Policy Analyst

Canadian Lung Association

• Amy Henderson, Manager, Public Policy

Audio Playback for Panel 3 (English)

A video playback of the meeting is available in English (HERE) or French (HERE).

• Panel 1 Begins at 13:28:58
• Panel 2 Begins at 14:30:48
• Panel 3 Begins at 15:27:42

We will update this article to include any transcript and evidence presented to the committee when it becomes available.

Senate Committee Members Present:

• Kelvin Kenneth Ogilvie (Chair)
• Linda Frum
• Nancy J. Hartling
• Chantal Petitclerc
• Carolyn Stewart Olsen
• Judith Seidman
• Tony Dean
• Marie-Françoise Mégie
• Nancy Greene Raine

Witnesses were divided into two (2) panels which consisted of the following individuals:

Panel 1 (10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.)

The Electronic Cigarette Trade Association of Canada

• Daniel David, Chairman

Canadian Vaping Association

• D. Meshaila Sinnis, Board Member

Audio Playback for Panel 1 (English)

Panel 2 (11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.)

Imperial Tobacco Canada Ltd

• Eric Gagnon, Director, Government and Regulatory Affairs

Rothmans, Benson & Hedges Inc.

• Peter Luongo, Managing Director
• Michael Klander, Director of Corporate Affairs

Audio Playback for Panel 2 (English)

A video playback of the meeting is available in English (HERE) or French (HERE).

• Panel 1 Begins at 10:31:19
• Panel 2 Begins at 11:28:45

Below is the ECTA Presentation as provided to the SOCI Committee.

We will update this article to include any transcript and evidence presented to the committee when it becomes available.

Senate Committee Members Present:

• Kelvin Kenneth Ogilvie (Chair)
• Art Eggleton (Deputy Chair)
• Linda Frum
• Nancy J. Hartling
• Chantal Petitclerc
• Carolyn Stewart Olsen
• Judith Seidman

Witnesses were divided into two (2) panels which consisted of the following individuals:

Panel 1 (4:15 p.m. – 5:15 p.m.)

Non-Smokers’ Rights Association

• Melodie Tilson, Director of Policy
• Pippa Beck, Senior Policy Analyst

Tobacco Harm Reduction Association of Canada

• Jaye Blancher, Director
• David Jones, Policy Advisor

Audio Playback for Panel 1 (English)

Panel 2 (5:15 p.m. – 6:15 p.m.)

Canadian Convenience Stores Association

• Satinder Chera, President
• Sébastien Tremblay Drolet, Category manager, Couche-Tard Inc.

National Coalition Against Contraband Tobacco

• Gary Grant, Spokesperson

Audio Playback for Panel 2 (English)

A video playback of the meeting is available in English (HERE) or French (HERE).

Panel 1 starts at 16:16

Panel 2 starts at 17:16

We will update this article to include any transcript and evidence presented to the committee when it becomes available.

There were points within the previous version of the Legislative Summary that incorrectly interpreted the intent of the bill.  The updated version is below but the key change to point out is the previously stated intent to ban flavours.

This:

• prohibits the use of flavours in vaping products that appeal to youth;

Was changed to this:

• prohibits the promotion of vaping products containing flavours that appeal to youth;

The updated Legislative Summary is below or click HERE to downloaded directly from the Parliament website.