Interest in alternative and complementary care has been growing steadily in Canada for several years.  This is evident with the proliferation of health food stores, newspaper articles concerning natural supplements and in our pharmacies that carry homeopathic remedies alongside nutritional supplements.  In the Health Professions Regulatory Advisory Council’s report to the Ontario Minister of Health (January 2001) it is stated: “naturopaths have a unique role to play in providing expert guidance and advice for the safe and effective use of natural health products for the Ontario population.  It is in the public interest that they be regulated alongside the other 23 regulated health professions in Ontario.”   It is the academic and clinical education, and the philosophy of naturopathic medicine that produces such health care professionals. 

Naturopathic medicine is distinctive in that it is based on a set of common sense principles:  1) Prevention, 2) First do no harm, 3) Identify and address the fundamental causes of disease, 4) Make use of the healing power of nature, 5) Consider the person as a whole.  Health promotion and disease prevention are achieved through the use of natural techniques: lifestyle modification and public health, clinical nutrition, homeopathy, counseling, oriental medicine and acupuncture, botanical medicine, mechanotherapy and physical therapeutic procedures *.  Because naturopathic medicine focuses on disease prevention and health promotion, patients require less prescription or over the counter medication and experience fewer visits to the hospital.  Naturopathic treatments address the cause of the ailment and encourage healthy lifestyle changes thereby decreasing the long-term necessity for medical care.

Naturopathic medical education is a 4-year full-time graduate program at an accredited institution.  Naturopathic doctors must then pass the Naturopathic Doctor’s Licensing Examination in order to practice.  Naturopathic medicine is currently regulated under provincial law in 4 provinces: British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, and Saskatchewan.  Completion of legislation is pending in Alberta and commencing in Nova Scotia.  In the United States, naturopathic doctors are licensed/regulated in the following states, districts and territories: Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Kansas, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Utah, Vermont, Virgin Islands and Washington.  Legislation is pending in Colorado, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Rhode Island and Texas. 

In Quebec, as one can obtain a doctorate of naturopathy degree by correspondence program without classroom or clinical training, the public is unable to distinguish between qualified and unqualified naturopaths.  It is the opinion of the Quebec Association of Naturopathic Medicine that regulation would offer the highest standard in natural medical therapies to the citizens of Quebec while ensuring practioners have qualified education and training with a defined scope of practice.  Regulation would also serve to protect the public by making use of expertise from naturopathic doctors to identify and prevent potential drug-herb or drug-nutrient interaction.  It would reduce the economic burden on the health care system by focusing on disease prevention thereby reducing the need for prescription medication and hospital admittance.  Naturopathic medicine reduces the incidence of adverse reactions to prescription medications and reduces the incidence of iatrogenic (doctor-induced) illnesses.  Furthermore, regulation would help integrate natural therapies with conventional medical practices.  Finally, regulation would ensure the maintenance of high standards of naturopathic medicine in Canada and North America.

* Certain practices may be limited in jurisdictions that do not regulate naturopathic medicine.

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