Health committee  What I mentioned was that the provincial government in Ontario has already passed a regulation. For the vast majority of generic drugs, the Ontario government will not list them on its formulary unless they are at least 50% lower than the brand name product. In Quebec, they have a rule that says they will only pay the same price.

Health committee  These prices will probably be lower than those in the United States on the majority of products, yes.

Health committee  That's a very interesting question. Actually, about 15% of our revenues go back into research and development. That meets the definitions of the tax act. The brand name companies in Canada have been declining. They spend about 8%. Surprisingly, we spend twice as much in Canada on research as the brand name companies do as a proportion of sales.

Health committee  Yes. Thank you. In fact, the common drug review, I argued, is an essential part of the Canadian process now for brand name drugs. I think in large part it was recommended by the provinces, asked for by the provinces, and that's how it came about. For generic drugs, we have a different situation.

Health committee  I don't think the common drug review would want to do that. They would see it as a duplication.

Health committee  If I could just respond to Mr. Fletcher, who asked about generic drug prices, yes, a study last year by the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board showed that generic drugs here were priced higher than those in other countries. In fact, many provinces are now taking measures about that.

Health committee  Yes, thank you. On the last issue, we deal with the drug program managers and health ministries in all the provinces, and I think as long as they are paying for the drugs, there is virtually no chance they are ever going to cede authority back to some other agency as to which drugs they pay for.

Health committee  Thank you, Madam Vice-Chair. I am President of the Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association. I'm going to make my presentation in English. I would like to start by saying that we appreciate the opportunity to make comments before your committee on the common drug review. The Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association, or CGPA, is the national trade association representing Canada's generic pharmaceutical industry.