Mark Holland

[Public Safety, February 26th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, the short answer is imminently. It is going to happen right away.

I want to thank all parties, because it is through co-operation and working together, the mechanism that we set forth. Remember that it is the Public Health Agency of Canada that makes decisions around redactions. We set forward a collaborative process that all parties participated in. As a result of that, this is exactly why additional information will be deposed before the House, and that additional information was exactly the intention in setting up that committee. That means Canadians will have additional views on the information therein.

[Health, February 26th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois is clearly trying to pick a fight. We are seeking solutions. That is why we are having good conversations with Minister Dubé and the Government of Quebec about improving the quality of health care.

It is essential that all Quebeckers have access to dental care and a good health care system. That can be achieved through co-operation, not through bickering or this sort of debate.

[Pharmacare, February 5th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, it is crucial that we reduce the cost of living in general and ensure affordability. That is why we worked with all provinces and territories to co-purchase medications so we could reduce costs. With respect to the question about lobbying, I think that is a great question for Jenni Byrne.

[Pharmacare, February 5th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, of course, we share the member's objective to reduce drug prices for Canadians and to make sure that we have a competitive and fair environment in Canada. We are working together on pharmacare legislation. I look forward to continuing those conversations.

Of course, Canada, by engaging in bulk purchasing, has seen a reduction of about $300 million in the cost of drugs for Canadians across the country. With many countries looking at how they can emulate that kind of practice to reduce drug prices in their countries, we are going to continue to do everything we can.

[Health, February 1st, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, ensuring that women across this country have access to the health care they need in order to protect their reproductive and sexual health is absolutely essential. Of course, we did withhold funding from New Brunswick because of the lack of funding for Clinic 554. It made the decision on its own to shut down, but we are deeply concerned with the impact that this is going to have on the ability of women to get access to an abortion.

I have already reached out to the Government of New Brunswick. We are continuing a conversation because it is essential that those services be kept open to women across the country, and certainly in New Brunswick.

[Dental Care, February 1st, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Kitchener—Conestoga for his advocacy to make sure that oral health is available for all Canadians.

It is now available for those who are 72 years of age and older, and it is going to be rolling out to nine million Canadians. That is 3.5 million seniors and more than a million kids under 18. It is deeply disappointing that the Conservatives are voting against this and looking to get rid of dental care. It is essential not only as preventive medicine but also for the dignity of seniors who are finally being able to replace their dentures and get the oral health care they need.

[Health, February 1st, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, we are deeply committed to ensuring that Canadians have access to the drugs they need for their health and well-being. We have worked hard to make hundreds of millions of dollars in savings, nearly $300 million in savings, through bulk purchasing.

We are working with provinces and territories through our bilateral agreements to continue to find ways to improve health care across the country and to ensure that Canadians have access to the health care they need.

[Questions on the Order Paper, January 29th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, diabetes is a complex disease with many different treatments, including insulin, metformin and dozens of other medications, which are sometimes used together, to manage blood sugar levels. In addition, diabetics use a range of medical devices, such as syringes and insulin pumps, as well as test strips, continuous glucose monitors and other related supplies to manage their condition.

In general, there are limitations for estimating out-of-pocket costs for people with no public or private insurance. It can be difficult to make generalizations about individual costs as there are considerable variances in dose, frequency, type of medication or supplies and prices, such as in the case of generic or brand name drugs. Some diabetes medications may be used to treat other conditions, and data on the condition for which medication was prescribed is generally not available. Determining the costs for diabetes supplies is especially challenging, as this data is not routinely collected.

While publicly available data on the cost of prescription medications and supplies is limited, Health Canada has licensed access to some data on drug spending in Canada through IQVIA Solutions Canada Inc., which collects data on dispensed prescriptions at retail pharmacies. In 2022, IQVIA data suggests that the combined public, private and out-of-pocket spending on prescription diabetes medications was approximately $4.1 billion. As a disclaimer, the statements, findings, conclusions, views and opinions expressed in this report are based in part on data obtained under licence from IQVIA Solutions Canada Inc. concerning the information services of Compuscript, from January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2022. All rights are reserved. The statements, findings, conclusions, views and opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of IQVIA Solutions Canada Inc. or any of its affiliated or subsidiary entities.

Diabetes Canada has done work to determine the potential annual out-of-pocket costs for people living with type 1 and type 2 diabetes under different scenarios. Its report suggests that out-of-pocket costs for Canadians living with type 1 diabetes can vary from a low of $78 to a high of $18,306 across the provinces. For type 2 diabetes, out-of-pockets costs can vary from a low of $76 to a high of $10,014. These cost estimates are not broken down with respect to which proportion is for prescription diabetes medication versus diabetes control supplies.

[Questions on the Order Paper, January 29th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, in budget 2022, the Government of Canada committed to continue its ongoing work towards a universal national pharmacare program. This will include tabling a Canada pharmacare bill, and then tasking the Canadian drug agency to develop a national formulary of essential medicines and bulk purchasing plan.

The nature of the bill is still under discussion, and we are not able to confirm either any specific approach to national pharmacare or any potential future investments at this time.

That said, the Government of Canada has made important investments to date to support the implementation of national pharmacare. The government announced its intention to move forward, in partnership with provinces, territories, and other partners and stakeholders, on foundational elements of national pharmacare, including the following.

First is the creation of the Canadian drug agency, or CDA, supported by $89.5 million over five years, in addition to the existing federal funding of $34.2 million annually to support the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health. The CDA will provide the dedicated leadership and coordination needed to make Canada's drug system more sustainable and better prepared for the future, helping Canadians achieve better health outcomes.

Second is the launch of the first-ever national strategy for drugs for rare diseases, supported by investments of up to $1.5 billion over three years. This first phase aims to increase access to and affordability of effective drugs for rare diseases, which will contribute to improving the health of patients across Canada.

Third are enhancements to Prince Edward Island’s public drug programs, supported by $35 million to provide its residents with more affordable access to prescription drugs and to inform next steps on national universal pharmacare.

[Questions on the Order Paper, January 29th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, with regard to part (a) of the question, yes, the Minister of Health requires a manufacturer to submit an application for approval of a new indication for a drug that is already approved for a different indication. However, health care practitioners may choose to prescribe a drug outside of its approved indication, also called off-label use. Off-label use falls under the “practice of medicine” and is regulated at the provincial and territorial level.

Regarding parts (b) and (c), Health Canada’s bureau of gastroenterology, infection and viral diseases, which is part of the pharmaceutical drugs directorate, received 17 inquiries in its inquiries mailbox related to the use of ivermectin for the prophylaxis and treatment of COVID-19. All inquiries received were from the general public.

In general, inquiries made to Health Canada, or HC, and the Public Health Agency of Canada, or PHAC, about ivermectin for the prophylaxis and treatment of COVID-19 are not systematically tracked in a centralized database. HC and PHAC concluded that producing and validating a comprehensive response to this question would require a manual collection of information that is not possible in the time allotted and could lead to the disclosure of incomplete and misleading information.

However, ministerial correspondence is tracked centrally. Based on the question, 123 pieces of ministerial correspondence were identified and are broken down as follows: 115 pieces from the general public; four from health care professionals; one from a member of provincial, territorial or federal Parliament; and three from organizations.

Regarding part (d), Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada do not track this information.