Roles and Responsibilities of Pool Participants

• Time Commitment by Pool Participants
• Type of Consultations Open to Pool Members
• Participation in Consultations
• Training for Pool Participants
• Compensation for Pool Members
• Updating Your Contact Information

Time Commitment by Pool Participants

• Pool: Participants must commit to a two-year membership in the Pool, with the option of continuing on if interested.
• Training: Orientation training consists of two mandatory self-study courses (each 45-60 minutes long), and one session (half day) by webinar or CD-Rom. Participants are encouraged to take additional courses throughout their 2-year term as they become available. Additional educational tools along with a regular e-bulletin newsletter will be provided to keep participants engaged and informed.
• Consultations: Pool participants will be invited to take an active part in consultations related to their areas of interest once or twice a year as a minimum and depending on consultations. Consultations can be online, by teleconference, e-mail, or face-to-face. The amount of time required for a consultation varies greatly, depending on the type of consultation and factors such as preparation and travel time as necessary.

As well, there may be e-mails, teleconferences and documents to review. For all consultations, participants are expected to review the materials and give thought to them before they participate.

Type of Consultations Open to Pool Members

Participants will be invited to participate in a variety of HPFB consultations. Examples of previous consultation topics include:

[link to other pages as needed]

• How foods should be labelled to identify health benefits and allergens (Health Claims on Food consultations, 2008 and Precautionary Labelling of Food Allergens, 2009);
• Health Product Plain Language Labelling (January 2011); Nutrition for Healthy Term Infants - Recommendations from Birth to Six Months; and
• Proposed Policy: Definition and Energy Value of Dietary Fibre.

As well, Pool members may be invited to participate on External Advisory Committees. For a complete list of HPFB committees, visit External Advisory Committees of the Health Products and Food Branch.

Participation in Consultations

Participants will be informed of consultations which could be relevant to them according to their identified interests, and will be able to choose which ones to participate in based on their availability.

Training for Pool Participants

Mandatory: Participants are required to take two modules of orientation training:

• The mandate, roles and responsibilities of Health Canada, the Health Products and Food Branch, and the broader health portfolio; and
• The legislative and regulatory landscape that underpins the work of the Branch.

Voluntary: Participants will be invited to take additional courses on specific HPFB-related topics on a voluntary basis. Examples of potential topics include the drug approvals process, the food safety regulatory system, and participating in public consultations.

Compensation for Pool Members

Public participation in consultations is non-remunerated. This applies to members of the Pool as well. They will not be paid for their participation in either the Pool or any consultation in which they participate.

In certain cases (for example External Advisory Committees), travel expenses or consultation related expenses may be reimbursed in accordance with the Terms of Reference.

Updating Your Contact Information

To update your personal information, for example change of address, please contact the Pool Secretariat.

Failure to submit the information required within the Application Form or failure to keep the information up to date, for example your e-mail address, may affect your ability to be contacted or participate in the Pool.