Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak to Bill C-523 and to take this opportunity to highlight our government's efforts to address drug shortages in Canada and to briefly outline why I believe this bill is not the right approach for Canadians.
Drug shortages are a global problem our government takes very seriously. Many of us have heard from our constituents about the impact drug shortages can have on patients and health care providers. Patients and their families need to be confident that they will have access to the drugs they need when they need them. This country's doctors need to know that when they write a prescription for a patient or make a request for a drug to be available during surgery that it will be available. Addressing these concerns, however, is no easy task.
Figuring out how best to address this issue has been a principle concern of our government and other key stakeholders across the health care system. That is why we are working with drug companies and the provinces and territories as part of a pan-Canadian strategy to manage and prevent shortages and to reduce their impact.
Our government recognizes that the only way to effectively prevent and manage drug shortages is through a multi-stakeholder approach. That is why we have called upon stakeholders across the drug supply chain to work together to take action.
In 2012, in partnership with the government of Alberta, we jointly launched the Multi-Stakeholder Steering Committee on Drug Shortages. This committee includes membership from industry, health professional associations, and governments. They are all working together on concrete measures to address three priority areas, including prevention of drug shortages, advanced notification and communication, and shortage mitigation and crisis management. I am pleased to say that this collaborative approach was endorsed by federal, provincial, and territorial ministers of health in 2012.
While this multi-stakeholder approach is relatively new, I am pleased to report that we have seen real progress in public notification of shortages on an industry-funded website; concrete tools to mitigate drug shortages across the supply chain; and coordinated action on recent drug shortages between the federal government, provinces, territories, and industry. Through our productive working relationship, industry has taken important steps to improve public notification of shortages and to provide Canadians, health care practitioners, and patients with the information they need on drug shortages.
However, Canada's drug supply system is changing and improving. It is also becoming more open and transparent.
In response to a call from the Minister of Health, industry launched drugshortages.ca in 2012. Through this site, industry has been working collaboratively and voluntarily to provide public notification of actual and anticipated drug shortages. The information available on this site is critical to helping all elements of the health care system adapt to potential supply disruptions before patient care is negatively impacted. Most importantly, this approach is working. Back in August, for example, one major company, Sandoz, voluntarily posted a number of upcoming drug shortages to this site, well in advance of an anticipated disruption.
We will continue to monitor and push industry to ensure timely and comprehensive posting on this website to build on the success we have seen thus far.
The multi-stakeholder approach has also resulted in the collaborative development of concrete tools to prevent and manage drug shortages across the supply chain. This September, two tools were announced by the Minister of Health, jointly with her Alberta counterpart, alongside industry and health professional association representatives from the committee. The first of these tools is a national protocol for the public notification of drug shortages. This protocol sets out clear expectations for how and when stakeholders across the supply chain share information in the event of a drug shortage. This protocol provides much-needed direction on roles and responsibilities and details on how to communicate to ensure that Canadians continue to receive the most up-to-date information on potential and actual drug shortages.
The second tool is a multi-stakeholder tool kit that identifies key measures that can be taken across the drug supply chain to prevent and reduce the impact of drug shortages. This tool kit provides a detailed outline of Canada's drug supply chain and the roles and responsibilities of key players in the event of a shortage.
Finally, the multi-stakeholder approach has resulted in unprecedented levels of collaboration and coordinated action on recent drug shortages among all levels of government and industry.
When these shortages are communicated or detected, stakeholders from across the health care system and drug supply chain are now coming together to identify the best available measures to address them. These improvements will help ensure that all stakeholders have access to the essential information necessary to support a robust supply of drugs in Canada.
The benefits and successes of our current multi-stakeholder approach to addressing drug shortages provide a useful background as to why I will not be supporting Bill C-523 and why our government will instead continue to support ongoing multi-stakeholder efforts.
This bill seeks to amend the Department of Health Act to require drug suppliers to notify the Minister of Health of any disruption in the supply of drugs and to impose fines for non-compliance.
Where Bill C-523 falls short is that it ignores the significant good will and positive momentum seen to date to address this important issue. In doing so, this bill prematurely concludes that mandatory notification is possible, enforceable, or would necessarily lead to a reduction in the frequency and duration of these shortages. I do not think this bill can achieve that.
This bill also fails to recognize the complexity of the supply chain and the distinct roles and responsibilities of its stakeholders in the event of a shortage. Industry's primary role in the event of a potential or actual drug shortage situation must be more than just providing notification. Our multi-stakeholder approach demands much more from industry than just notification. It demands that industry work collaboratively with stakeholders across the supply chain to review their manufacturing practices, find alternate products, and make the health and well-being of Canadians their principle concern.
Rather than focusing attention on all stakeholders and their different but complementary roles, Bill C-523 seeks to expand the role of the federal government. In doing so, this bill attempts to impose additional bureaucracy, burdensome oversight, and needless, unenforceable penalties. This ineffective, big government approach would not reduce drug shortages.
It is because of our efforts with all stakeholders that companies are providing advance notice of shortages online, including information about alternative treatments.
The lessons learned from the 2012 report of the Standing Committee on Health and from current multi-stakeholder efforts are that improved notification is only one component of a comprehensive strategy. We now know that this comprehensive approach to drug shortages requires an integrated focus on prevention, notification and communication, and mitigation and crisis management.
While our government will not support Bill C-523, we will continue to monitor this issue very closely. We are also open to considering a mandatory approach, if needed. Embarking upon such an approach at this time, however, would hinder the progress we have made so far.
Going forward, we will continue to expect greater transparency and accountability from industry. We will implement a new public register of manufacturers that have committed to advance notification and will publicly post letters to industry members who fail to comply.
However, let me be clear. If at any point it becomes clear that industry is not fulfilling its obligations to provide Canadians with timely, comprehensive, and reliable information on drug shortages, our government will not hesitate to bring forward a plan for stronger federal action.
In closing, Bill C-523 falls short of the strong, collaborative approach and action we have taken on drug shortages. It is an action Canadians expect and deserve from our government. We will continue to build on the successes we have seen so far, to draw on the strength of our partners, and to work together to prevent and manage drug shortages in Canada.
