Silicone breasts were illegal in Canada?

The Canadian government licensed the sale of silicone gel breast implants on Friday, reversing a partial ban that was in place for more than 13 years over health concerns.

Health Canada granted licenses to two U.S. companies, Mentor Corp. and Inamed Corp., a unit of Allergan Inc. to market their implants in Canada.
Canada had brought in a voluntary moratorium on the implants in 1992 and turned it into an effective ban in 1993 by saying they would not be allowed on the market without new clinical studies.

The government did allow 24,000 silicone implants since then through a Special Access program, under which doctors had to certify that suitable alternative procedures were not available. Saline-filled breast implants were the only kind that had been generally available in Canada in the meantime.

"This shocking and unfortunate decision will jeopardize women's health for many years to come," the group's president, Diana Zuckerman, said from Washington. She said possible silicone leaks could spread to other organs and could cost Canada's public health system millions of dollars. Article here.