The NHPPA Podcast

Shawn Buckley interviews Elliot Overton, qualified nutritionist and leading expert on thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency and high-dose therapy. Learn why thiamine deficiency is more common than most realize and how targeted supplementation can make a significant difference.
 
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A conversation with Thom Zaugg, recorded in Collingwood during the Health Charter Tour. Shawn Buckley speaks with Thom Zaugg about their chance meeting during the tour, Thom’s background with Truehope, and his work exploring the role of broad-spectrum micronutrients in mental health and cognitive decline. Thom discusses research into nutrition-based approaches to conditions such as Alzheimer’s and dementia, challenges prevailing assumptions about irreversibility, and reflects on why access to natural health information and products matters for families seeking hope beyond conventional pharmaceutical models. Learn more about the NHPPA’s cross-Canada tour and the Charter of Health Freedom at nhppa.org/join-the-tour/. Subscribe to our free newsletter to stay informed about how you can educate and activate your community: https://nhppa.org/subscribe/

A short address by MP Blaine Calkins recorded during the Parliament Hill event of the Health Charter Tour, following the official handoff of the Charter of Health Freedom paper petitions by Shawn Buckley. MP Calkins accepts over 150,000 handwritten signatures, noting that additional petitions were still arriving by mail, bringing the total well beyond that number. He thanks volunteers and advocates across Canada for their sustained efforts to protect access to natural health products and reflects on his nearly two decades in Parliament, emphasizing that this issue has returned due to recent legislative changes. MP Calkins explains that Bill C-47 redefined natural health products without meaningful debate, prompting widespread public response. He describes drafting a private member’s bill to restore the previous definition of natural health products, drawing on personal experience as a regular user and highlighting the absurdity of regulating vitamins such as vitamin D in the same manner as chemotherapy drugs. He outlines the parliamentary process ahead, stresses the importance of continued public pressure across party lines in a minority Parliament, and commits to tabling and advancing the bill as a matter of common sense, affordability, and Canadians’ right to care for their own health. Learn more about the NHPPA’s cross-Canada tour and the Charter of Health Freedom at nhppa.org/join-the-tour/. Subscribe to our free newsletter to stay informed about how you can educate and activate your community: https://nhppa.org/subscribe/

In this hard-hitting episode, Shawn Buckley asks the tough question: Bill 224 just passed second reading and moved essential nutrients and natural remedies out of the restrictive “therapeutic product” drug class — a rare victory — but will it actually protect our access, or is it another false hope? Drawing from a direct public comment that challenged whether Canada’s parliamentary system is still salvageable while childhood vaccine schedules continue and studies show unvaccinated children are healthier, Shawn examines Health Canada’s long history of bias against natural health products. From the rebellion that forced the 1998 Standing Committee recommendations, to the 2004 drug-style NHP Regulations, ongoing bureaucratic harassment, and the looming Self-Care Framework that threatens to eliminate most NHPs, the evidence is clear: actions speak louder than words. Shawn confronts the reality that many Canadians are already turning to black-market sources like Ivermectin, Fenbendazole, and unlicensed producers, and warns that we may have already crossed the line where legal access can no longer be taken for granted. This episode is a sobering call to understand the fight ahead and decide how we will protect our health freedom.
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A brief conversation with Jason Dahl, campaign coordinator for the NHPPA, recorded during the Parliament Hill event of the Health Charter Tour. Speaking as a Yukoner from Whitehorse, Jason highlights the nationwide relevance of the tour by contrasting the Yukon’s small population with the scale of federal decision-making that affects all Canadians equally. He explains how concerns about access to natural health products and the right to make personal health choices resonate just as strongly in northern and remote communities as they do in large urban centres. Jason describes organizing a Yukon event with uncertainty about turnout, only to see it fill a local health food store, reinforcing that Canadians across the country share the same concerns about overregulation and health freedom. He emphasizes the importance of national solidarity, grassroots organizing, and ensuring that voices from the territories are represented in conversations about health policy and access. Learn more about the NHPPA’s cross-Canada tour and the Charter of Health Freedom at nhppa.org/join-the-tour/. Subscribe to our free newsletter to stay informed about how you can educate and activate your community: https://nhppa.org/subscribe/

Josh Prefontaine, a young TCM student, joins us as he is about to graduate, who we learned had written and submitted a brief to the Standing Committee on Health! Take Action 📨 Send an e-letter to the Liberal government and the Standing Committee on Health https://nhppa.org/cohf-26/ 📰 Subscribe to the NHPPA weekly newsletter https://nhppa.org/subscribe Guests Jason Dahl – Host Shawn Buckley – President, Natural Health Products Protection Association (NHPPA) Teresa Buckley – NHPPA Eric Clegg – NHPPA Josh Prefontaine — TCM Student

A conversation with Marie-Lise, recorded during the Parliament Hill event of the Health Charter Tour. Speaking in French, Marie-Lise describes her role as the Quebec representative for the Charter of Health Freedom and her journey running the “Blue Highway” from Quebec City to Ottawa to collect signatures. (Translated from French) With more than 40 years of experience in the natural health field, she reflects on how increasing regulation since 2008 has forced companies to close, raised costs for natural health products, and placed growing burdens on practitioners, manufacturers, and consumers. Marie-Lise explains that the Charter was created to protect freedom of choice in healthcare, including the right to choose one’s naturopath, homeopath, therapist, and treatments. She recounts personally collecting approximately 3,000 signatures in Quebec as part of a nationwide paper petition that surpassed 150,000 signatures, making it one of the largest of its kind in Canadian history. She describes the Health Charter Tour as a historic, grassroots movement that brought together consumers, practitioners, retailers, producers, and distributors across the country, and emphasizes that delivering the Charter to Parliament represents the beginning of a larger effort to reclaim health choice, dignity, and access for Canadians. Learn more about the NHPPA’s cross-Canada tour and the Charter of Health Freedom at nhppa.org/join-the-tour/. Subscribe to our free newsletter to stay informed about how you can educate and activate your community: https://nhppa.org/subscribe/

A wide-ranging conversation with Jason Watkins recorded during the NHPPA Health Charter Tour event at Biker’s Church in Ottawa. Jason shares his background in experimental medicine and his early belief in Canada’s health system before developing a natural health product that produced measurable improvements in autoimmune conditions, outperforming conventional drug therapies based on objective blood markers. He recounts how the product’s success led to regulatory scrutiny, RCMP raids, and a six-year legal battle with Health Canada, during which his company was criminally charged before the case was ultimately dropped. Jason describes internal Health Canada communications that acknowledged the safety of ingredients such as MSM while simultaneously portraying them as dangerous to justify prosecution. Throughout the discussion, Jason and Shawn reflect on censorship, misuse of science, and the transformation of regulatory systems into tools of control. Jason emphasizes personal responsibility, truth-telling, and grassroots action, noting that he has spoken at both the inaugural Victoria event and the final Ottawa event of the tour as part of a broader effort to encourage Canadians to speak openly, share health stories, and defend access to natural health products. Learn more about the NHPPA’s cross-Canada tour and the Charter of Health Freedom at nhppa.org/join-the-tour/. Subscribe to our free newsletter to stay informed about how you can educate and activate your community: https://nhppa.org/subscribe/

A reflective conversation with Ken Drysdale recorded during the NHPPA Health Charter Tour event at Biker’s Church in Ottawa. Ken explains the origins and structure of the National Citizens Inquiry, a citizen-funded and citizen-run quasi-judicial inquiry formed to examine how governments at all levels handled COVID-related policies. He describes the unprecedented scope of the inquiry, which heard testimony from 305 witnesses across eight Canadian cities, producing a comprehensive public report exceeding 5,000 pages, including a 664-page written analysis. Ken outlines how the inquiry was designed to be accessible to everyday Canadians through plain language, a detailed table of contents, and freely available online access. He reflects on the emotional and social impact of the hearings, noting how the process helped many participants realize they were not alone or “crazy,” and compares the inquiry’s role to an “injection of truth” that reduced fear and restored dialogue. The conversation addresses widespread media silence, censorship, and the concentration of media power, emphasizing the importance of grassroots communication and citizen involvement. Ken concludes with a call for Canadians to move beyond passive voting, get involved locally, share information responsibly, and actively participate in restoring democratic accountability and community resilience. Learn more about the NHPPA’s cross-Canada tour and the Charter of Health Freedom at nhppa.org/join-the-tour/. Subscribe to our free newsletter to stay informed about how you can educate and activate your community: https://nhppa.org/subscribe/

A short address by Teresa Buckley, Communications Director at the NHPPA, delivered during the Ottawa evening event at Biker’s Church as part of the Health Charter Tour. Teresa reflects on her experience leading communications for the National Citizens Inquiry, where citizen-led efforts generated tens of millions of social media impressions despite limited resources and widespread censorship. She shares her internal struggle about whether advocacy efforts truly make a difference, and recounts the moment that clarified her role: the simple but powerful instruction to “tell people to tell people.” Teresa explains how meaningful change depends on exponential, person-to-person sharing rather than passive consumption of information, comparing the process to basic mathematics rather than persuasion. She challenges attendees to move beyond safe conversations and take responsibility for actively sharing the message, emphasizing that the success of grassroots movements depends on ordinary people choosing to speak, connect, and act. Learn more about the NHPPA’s cross-Canada tour and the Charter of Health Freedom at nhppa.org/join-the-tour/. Subscribe to our free newsletter to stay informed about how you can educate and activate your community: https://nhppa.org/subscribe/