Health committee  If I could make a comment, I would urge caution here. We have to be careful not to blow things out of proportion without good reason. As long as information is provided appropriately, some drugs can be available freely over the counter. Obviously, it is important to educate the p

Health committee  I understand your question and your argument. As health care professionals, even we are not used to this way of working. I have been a pharmacist for 30 years. Personally, I have always thought that a known reaction should not be reported. We report unknown reactions described to

Health committee  Allow me to respond. I omitted part of my speech. That was precisely my point. I would not want people to lose their trust in the system, be it the professionals or the general public. When we offer a product for sale in our pharmacies, it is because we think it meets the standa

Health committee  The situations I described are everyday occurrences. For example, we often get information from notices or articles in newspapers, or from patients who have read or heard something about a particular drug. The Internet means that, today, everything happens quickly. I have seen ca

Health committee  Even where the climate is one of direct collaboration and cooperation, and even though there are high-ranking officials working for the various Health Canada entities, it often proves difficult to contact the right person, especially when a specific, personalized response is requ

Health committee  No problem.

Health committee  Fine. That's why we would like to take this opportunity here this morning to share our thoughts about federal authorities in the framework of this committee. Although we are aware that we are not directly addressing Health Canada officials, since the result of your work may wel

Health committee  Madam Chair, distinguished members of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Claude Gagnon, pharmacist, and I'm president of the Ordre des pharmaciens. Ms. Manon Lambert is the director general and secretary of the association.