Natural Health Products Online Solution

Enrolment

Applicants who wish to conduct business electronically with the Natural Health Products Directorate (NHPD), either on their own behalf or on behalf of someone else, can use the electronic submission features of the Natural Health Products Online Solution.

The following sections will explain the enrolment process:

• Why Enrol?
• About Secure E-mail
• Enrolment Process
  1. Enrolment Submission
  2. Submission Screening
  3. Enrolment Confirmation

Why Enrol?

With the Natural Health Products Online Solution, electronic submissions can be processed much faster than those received on paper. Before applicants can use the facility for electronic submission by secure e-mail, they must first enrol with the NHPD.

Please note that Natural Health Products Online Solution enrolment is not required for applicants and representatives who wish to continue to submit their licence applications on paper or on CD.

For electronic submission by secure e-mail, enrolment is required to:

• establish the credentials necessary to identify and authenticate an applicant in an electronic context; and
• (once enrolled) ensure applicants and their representatives are recognized as Trading Partners and are able to conduct business electronically with the NHPD using PosteCS™ secure e-mail. Documents received from enrolled Trading Partners through secure e-mail do not require an authorized signature.

About Secure E-mail

Using the PosteCS secure e-mail system is similar to using other Web-based electronic mail software (such as Microsoft Outlook, Lotus Notes Mail, Microsoft Network (MSN) Hotmail, Google gmail, etc).

Using an active Web browser, a Trading Partner is able to log on to the Canada Post PosteCS site with a valid identification (ID) and password.

For more information on the PosteCS secure e-mail service that is available, visit Canada Post's PosteCS Web site.

Enrolment Process

There are three stages to the enrolment process:

1. Enrolment Submission : the applicant prepares the necessary enrolment documentation and sends it to the NHPD;
2. Submission Screening : the NHPD reviews the enrolment documentation and confirms certain information with the applicant; and
3. Enrolment Confirmation : (depending on the outcome of the confirmation process) the applicant is accepted or refused as a Trading Partner.

An overview of the three stages of the enrolment process can be found in the Guidance Document on How to Interact with the Natural Health Products Directorate Electronically.

1. Enrolment Submission

The applicant downloads and completes the material in the enrolment package, which contains the following:

• Natural Health Products Online Solution: Trading Partner Agreement ;
• Natural Health Products Online Solution: Trading Partner Profile; and
• Signing Authority template.

All three documents must be signed to take effect. Other supporting documents may also be required - full details are provided in the Guidance document on how to interact with the Natural Health Products Directorate electronically.

Because the enrolment process requires that signed originals be delivered to the NHPD, the enrolment materials must be submitted to the NHPD by regular mail or courier only at:

Health Canada
Natural Health Products Directorate
Natural Health Products Online Enrolment
Qualicum Tower A
2936 Baseline Road
Ottawa , Ontario
Canada
K1A 0K9
(for courier K2H 1B3)

2. Submission Screening

Review of the enrolment application begins once the completed enrolment package is received at the NHPD. The process is as follows:

• The applicant is contacted by telephone using the information provided, should the NHPD have any questions or require any clarifications about the contents of the enrolment package.
• Using PosteCS™ the NHPD contacts the applicant to schedule an interview. This telephone interview is to confirm the contents of the Trading Partner Profile that was included as part of the enrolment submission.
• Based on the results of the interview and contents of the application, the NHPD will make a decision to approve or decline the enrolment as a Trading Partner.

3. Enrolment Confirmation

After a successful enrolment, the Trading Partner receives the following:

• a confirmation message (sent to the Trading Partner by PosteCS secure e-mail); and
• a copy of the Trading Partner Agreement signed by the NHPD (sent by regular mail.)

Upon confirmation of enrolment, the Trading Partner can submit licence applications and supporting documentation electronically through secure e-mail.

A more detailed explanation regarding the enrolment process and how to maintain the Trading Partner profile is available in the Guidance document on how to interact with the Natural Health Products Directorate electronically.