An Act to amend the Food and Drugs Act (warning label on alcoholic beverages)

This bill, introduced in the Senate by Senator Brazeau, would change the Food and Drugs Act to require warning labels on alcoholic beverages sold in Canada. The preamble explains the reasoning: Parliament recognizes a direct link between alcohol consumption and fatal cancers, and believes consumers need accurate, current health information to make informed choices about drinking.

The core change is a new section added to the Act stating that no one may sell a beverage with 1.1% or more alcohol by volume unless its package carries a label, in a form and manner to be set by regulation, warning about the health risks of alcohol. This label would have to include: the amount of beverage that counts as a "standard drink," how many standard drinks are in the package, the maximum number of standard drinks that should not be exceeded to avoid serious health risks, and a message describing the causal link between alcohol and fatal cancers.

This requirement would apply to producers and sellers of alcoholic beverages, affecting essentially all beer, wine, and spirits sold in Canada above the stated alcohol threshold. The exact wording, layout, and design of the label would be determined later through regulations, not spelled out in the bill itself. If passed, the law would not take effect immediately — it would come into force one year after receiving royal assent, giving the industry and regulators time to prepare.

This bill amends the Food and Drugs Act to prohibit the sale of beverages containing 1.1% or more alcohol by volume unless the package bears a warning label meeting requirements set out in the Act and in future regulations.

• Prohibition created — selling a beverage with 1.1% or more alcohol by volume without the required label becomes unlawful under the Food and Drugs Act.
• Content left to regulation — the "prescribed form and manner" of the label, and any "other prescribed information" beyond the four listed items, are not defined in the bill and would be set later through regulations.
• Discretionary determinations by the Department — the volume that counts as a "standard drink" and the number of standard drinks that "should not be exceeded" to avoid "significant health risks" are matters left to the opinion of the Department, not fixed in the text.
• Mandatory health message — labels must include a message from the Department stating a causal link between alcohol consumption and "the development of fatal cancers," a specific factual claim fixed by the bill itself rather than left to regulatory discretion.
• No penalty specified — the bill does not set out fines, enforcement mechanisms, or penalties for non-compliance with section 5.1; these would depend on other provisions of the Food and Drugs Act or future regulations.
• Delayed effect — the Act only comes into force one year after receiving royal assent, with no other review or sunset mechanism stated.