Pilot to issue drug establishment licences (DELs) electronically
Drug Establishment Licensing Bulletin 81, April 2, 2020
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About the pilot
Health Canada recognizes that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on business operations, including within the pharmaceutical industry.
We are launching a pilot to issue DELs by email with electronic signatures. This means we will no longer be sending paper copies of DELs by mail. The pilot takes effect on April 2, 2020, and will be for an indefinite time.
The pilot will help ensure critical business lines such as drug establishment licensing can continue with minimal delays to regulated parties.
We will monitor its implementation and make the necessary adjustments if required.
Benefits
This pilot to implement the electronic issuance of DELs ("e-DELs") will offer the following benefits:
- minimal disruption to DELs being issued to regulated parties during the COVID-19 pandemic
- a "greener" process for issuing e-DELs by eliminating the use of paper
- more efficient, streamlined, cost-effective and speedier process
- added security and privacy features
- the type of electronic signatures used for e-DELs have added encryption with the use of public keys and digital certificates
Depending on your PDF application, some users may receive a message when opening an e-DEL indicating you are unable to validate the status of the trusted certificate. Please consult the application's user manual for further assistance on trusted certificates.
Contact us
To prevent issues with obtaining your e-DEL or other electronic documentation, you are responsible for notifying HC of any change in your contact information on your DEL application. This includes your e-mail and mailing addresses.
To update your contact information, please email us at hc.el.applications-le.sc@canada.ca.
To share feedback about this pilot, please email us at hc.del.questions-lepp.sc@canada.ca.