1. 10.1.1    General Principles
   1. 10.1.1.1 Members have a role to play in ensuring that Stakeholders are educated and kept informed on developments in health research, health sciences, clinical practice and their profession. Members may receive and consider requests for sponsorship of conferences and congresses organized by academic societies and professional associations or organizations.
   2. 10.1.1.2 These events must take place in Canada in order for this Section to apply.
   3. 10.1.1.3 Sponsorship of Canadian Professional Associations conferences or congresses hosted outside of Canada is prohibited.{{1}}
   4. 10.1.1.4 Members should not sponsor an event organized by an individual Health Care Professional (“HCP”) or an entity controlled in fact by the individual HCP, or his family member, legal representative and agent.
2. 10.1.2    Definition
   1. 10.1.2.1 A Canadian third-party educational or professional congress or conference is any activity, organized by specialty societies, academic institutions, and/or other educational entities, held at an appropriate location where meals and refreshments are reasonable in nature, where the gathering is primarily dedicated, in both time and effort, to provide objective scientific and educational activities and discourse, and the main incentive for bringing attendees together is to further their knowledge on the topic(s) being presented. These events should be approved, endorsed, or sponsored by academic societies or professional associations or organizations.
   2. 10.1.2.3 When considering whether to sponsor a conference or congress, Members should be guided by the criteria and annotations considered under Locations and Venues in Section 6.2.
3. 10.1.3    Standards
   1. 10.1.3.1 Members may sponsor Canadian third-party educational or professional conferences and congresses, under the following conditions:
      1. 10.1.3.1.1       The responsibility for and control over the selection of content, faculty, educational methods, materials, and venue belongs to the organizers of the conference or congress in accordance with their guidelines.{{2}}
      2. 10.1.3.1.2       The primary purpose of the event must be scientific, medical and/or educational in nature.
      3. 10.1.3.1.3        The audience may consist of Stakeholders, including patients or public.
   2. 10.1.3.2 In considering such requests, Members must comply with the following requirements:
      1. 10.1.3.2.1       The request for sponsorship must be received in writing, and must include all details (such as a budget) of the funding requested. If various sponsorships levels are offered (Platinum, Gold, etc.), the corresponding benefits should be clearly described. In deciding whether or not to support such events, Members should undertake a review of the following: the facilities offered by the venue and objective evidence of the scientific nature and content of the program through a detailed agenda that clearly describes the educational purpose, content, meeting start and finish times and duration of educational sessions. Members should undertake a review of the educational value prior to agreeing to sponsor the event.
      2. 10.1.3.2.2       The Member providing the support must respond to the request in writing, outlining the nature of the funding provided, clearly indicating to the requesting party what the Member is supporting.
      3. 10.1.3.2.3       It is appropriate for the Member to set up a booth or display in the exhibit hall of the conference or congress. In doing so, a Member must respect the conditions set out in Section 11 of this Code. Gifts, offers or enticements provided by a Member to encourage a Stakeholder to visit a display are prohibited.{{3}}
      4. 10.1.3.2.4       As per Section 17.3.4 of this Code, a Member is not allowed to distribute samples at a conference or congress.
      5. 10.1.3.2.5       Product branding where permitted by the conference or congress must follow the guidance frameworks for promotion provided by Health Canada. As such, sponsorship of conference or congress items through the sponsorship level chosen is permitted. Individual Members cannot distribute branded items at a conference or congress.{{4}}
      6. 10.1.3.2.6       Where conferences and congresses are sponsored in whole or in part by a Member, such sponsorships should be appropriately disclosed and accurately reflect the nature of the Member’s involvement. Acknowledgment of sponsorship by Members should appear on all program related materials.
      7. 10.1.3.2.7       Where Members are involved in the sponsorship and/or distribution of reports on conferences and congresses, these reports might constitute promotional material and thus would be subject to the requirement of the Code. Names of the sponsoring Members should be clearly indicated.
      8. 10.1.3.2.8       Attendance of Member employees at Canadian third-party educational or professional conferences and congresses is acceptable.
      9. 10.1.3.2.9       As it relates to particular sponsorship, Member-specific social functions are not permitted. However, Member employees can participate in activities that are part of conferences and congresses if they are incidental to these events and are not organized by Member Companies.
      10. 10.1.3.2.10     Sponsorship of attendees to a Canadian third-party educational or professional conference or congress is prohibited.

1. 10.2.1    General Principle
   1. 10.2.1.1 In addition to their commitment to provide and promote high quality health education programs for Stakeholders in Canada, Members have a role to play in ensuring that Canadian Stakeholders are educated and kept informed on developments in health research, health sciences, clinical practice and their profession at the international level. Members may receive and consider unsolicited requests from individual Stakeholders, academic societies, and professional associations or organizations for financial assistance to participate in international events. In addressing this situation, both the supporting Member and the recipient(s) of the financial support should proceed on the understanding that the ultimate objective in exposing Canadian Stakeholders to international events is to improve health care for Canadian patients.
2. 10.2.2    Definition
   1. 10.2.2.1 These are defined as international events that have been approved, endorsed, or sponsored by academic societies, or professional associations or organizations.
   2. 10.2.2.2 International events must take place outside of Canada in order for this Section to apply; when held in Canada, Section 10.1 applies.
3. 10.2.3    Standards
   1. 10.2.3.1 Members may sponsor Stakeholders to attend international events, under the following conditions:
      1. 10.2.3.1.1  There is a legitimate educational purpose fulfilled in sponsoring the Stakeholder.
      2. 10.2.3.1.2  The venue must be appropriate for scientific or educational communications.
      3. 10.2.3.1.3  The primary purpose of the event must be scientific, medical and/or educational in nature.
      4. 10.2.3.1.4  The international event derives participants from many countries.
   2. 10.2.3.2 In considering such requests, Members must comply with the following requirements:
      1. 10.2.3.2.1  The request must be received in writing, and must include all details of the funding requested, the program, as well as the specifics of the educational program(s) to be delivered by the participant(s) on their return to Canada.
      2. 10.2.3.2.2  The Member providing the support must respond to the request in writing, outlining the conditions/requirements in exchange for the financial support.
      3. 10.2.3.2.3  As part of the sponsorship, Members may provide funding for reasonable transportation, lodging, meals, and registration fees relating to the sponsored event. Reimbursement or payment of personal incidental expenses or any costs associated with accompanying family members are not eligible for reimbursement.
      4. 10.2.3.2.4  The Member must require the individual to advise whether or not he/she has requested support from more than one source to attend the same event. Funding from all sources is not to exceed total costs that are anticipated for items outlined in Section 10.2.3.2.3.
      5. 10.2.3.2.5   The individual(s)/organization(s) requesting the support must be required to share with Canadians the benefit of knowledge gained through one of:
         1. a. The submission of a report or paper to the supporting Member;
         2. b. Through a written report to a specialty society/academic institution; or
         3. c. A verbal presentation to Health Care Professionals.
      6. 10.2.3.2.6  Such papers and/or presentations must include a statement by the author/presenter acknowledging that financial support by the Member to attend the international event was received.
      7. 10.2.3.2.7  Members may provide financial support for a maximum of ten (10) individuals per Member to any one international event. Financial support must be reflective of fair market value and be paid after the event upon proof of attendance or managed by the Member. Notwithstanding the provisions in Section 6.3.2 of this Code, a Member may provide reasonable meals and refreshments to all sponsored Stakeholders to an international event as per Section 6 of this Code.
   3. 10.2.3.3 In considering such requests, Members must ensure the request and sponsorship comply with this Code, as well as the laws and regulations of the country where the event will be held.{{4}}

[[3]]Conferences and congresses sponsored by Canadian associations, societies or, corporations that are held outside of Canada cannot be sponsored by member companies.[[3]]

1. 10.3.1    General Principles
   1. 10.3.1.1 International events are sometimes held in Canada. As such, International Affiliates (non-Canadian) of Members may host or participate in scientific exchanges with Canadian and non-Canadian Health Care Professionals attending these events. These International Affiliates must respect applicable Canadian laws and regulations and this Code.
   2. 10.3.1.2 It is the responsibility of each Member to ensure the compliance of their International Affiliates with this Code.
   3. 10.3.1.3 Any incident of non-compliance by an International Affiliate with this Code could result in an infraction for the Member.
2. 10.3.2    Standards
   1. 10.3.2.1 Company X materials used at the conference:
      1. 10.3.2.1.1 If the product is not approved for sale in Canada, the material used at the conference is to emanate from the parent company (Company X Inc.) and should be labelled as follows:- “Product X (chemical name) is not available for sale in Canada” (or similar text, approved by the Canadian affiliate’s regulatory and/or medical department – such disclaimer should be legible, and in proportionate size to the material displayed or presented.
      2. 10.3.2.1.2 If a product’s indication(s) differ from those contained in the approved Canadian product monograph, the material used at the booth should be labelled with the following disclaimer:- “The information contained herein does not necessarily reflect the content of the approved Canadian product monograph” or similar text, approved by the Canadian affiliate’s regulatory and/or medical department – such disclaimer should be legible and in proportionate size to the material displayed or presented.
      3. 10.3.2.1.3 No reference should be made at the commercial booth and/or in the materials distributed as to the availability in Canada of unauthorized drugs through the Canadian Special Access Program or any off-label use.
      4. 10.3.2.1.4 All drug product materials, including posters, should be submitted to the Canadian affiliate’s regulatory and/or medical department for review and approval.
      5. 10.3.2.1.5 Questions from Canadian Health Care Professionals relating to the availability of a drug prior to market authorization or for indications not-approved in Canada are to be referred to the Canadian Medical Department personnel or to the on-site Canadian medical personnel.
      6. 10.3.2.1.6 Product branding where permitted by the conference or congress must follow the guidance frameworks for promotion provided by Health Canada. As such, sponsorship of conference or congress items through the sponsorship level chosen is permitted. Individual Member Companies cannot distribute branded items at a conference or congress.

1. 10.4.1   Definition
   1. 10.4.1.1 A “stand-alone meeting” is a scientific exchange meeting (excluding Investigator meetings), organized by the International Affiliate/Global Corporate Head Office of a Member Company, which involves Health Care Professional invitees from many different countries (including Canada) and is usually held in a central location, inside or outside of Canada.{{5}}
2. 10.4.2   Standards
   1. 10.4.2.1 Stand-alone meetings must be organized by the International Affiliate/Corporate Head Office.
   2. 10.4.2.2 Invitations to invitees must come from this International Affiliate/Corporate Head Office.
   3. 10.4.2.3 Members are limited to sending a maximum of ten (10) Health Care Professionals per event.
   4. 10.4.2.4 Members are permitted to pay for reasonable travel and accommodation of attending Health Care Professionals.