Canada. Health Protection Branch. Bureau of Veterinary Drugs : The federal government's regulation of the purity of food and drugs began in 1875, when Parliament passed "An Act to Impose Licence Duties on Compounders of Spirits and to Prevent Adulteration of Food, Drink and Drugs"; the Act was the responsibility of the Department of Inland Revenue. In 1907, following the reports of tainted meat in Chicago packing plants, the Canned Foods Act was passed, allowing the Department of Agriculture to inspect all animals destined for slaughter, as well as all carcasses and facilities for the canning and packaging of meat, fish and vegetables. As a result of this legislation, and following the creation of the Department of Health in 1919, there has been a strong relationship between the Departments of Agriculture and Health with regard to animals. Agriculture carried out the inspection of the animals themselves, while Health, under the provisions of the Food and Drugs Act of 1920 and its many revisions, investigated the purity of the medicated feed and the drugs given to animals later consumed by humans.
After the creation of the Department of National Health and Welfare in 1944, initial responsibility for food and drugs rested with the Food and Drugs Division, Laboratory Services, Animal Pathology section. In 1951, the Animal Pathology Section, Food and Drug Division of Inspection and Enforcement Services, Health Branch became responsible for drugs until 1953, when the Section was made part of the new Health Directorate. In 1964, a Scientific Advisory unit was established in the central laboratory in order to provide technical advice on such things as pesticides, medicated feeds, food additives, and veterinary drugs. The Bureau of Scientific Advisory Services, as it became known in 1965, was responsible for evaluating submissions on new human and veterinary drugs, medical devices, cosmetics, pesticides and food additives. The section responsible for veterinary drugs was re-named the Division of Veterinary Medicine during a functional re-organization in 1967. On May 1, 1968, the Bureau of Scientific Advisory Services was replaced by the Drug Advisory Bureau of the Food Advisory Bureau; the Drugs for Veterinary Use Section came under the former. In January 1972, a major re-organization of the Department resulted in the creation of the Health Protection Branch, under which were six Directorates, including the Drug Directorate, where responsibility for veterinary drugs remained under the Drug Advisory Bureau. The Drug Advisory Bureau devolved into a series of smaller bureaux, including the Bureau of Veterinary Medicine, directly under the Drugs Directorate. The name later changed in November 1980 to the present name, Bureau of Veterinary Drugs.
