Thank you for your question.
We are not in favour of a system that would only plug the holes. First, there are so many holes to plug that it would really be impossible, in our opinion. Second, that would not control our costs, which would become exorbitant. In Canada, pharmaceutical costs are extremely high. They're only surpassed by the United States or, occasionally, countries such as Switzerland or Germany, depending on the year. Our expenditures in that area are among the highest in the world.
In fact, the Quebec model, which is something of a stopgap, was a good attempt 20 years ago, when it was implemented. Unfortunately, compared with costs in other western countries, Quebec's costs are the highest. It is nearly impossible to control those costs without a publicly funded universal system. Huge amounts are being spent, but the results are unfortunately inconsistent. Some countries that are spending much less than us have far better results than we do.
In other words, the stopgap system is really inadequate financially speaking. It is also inadequate for companies. That system will not lower their costs, quite the opposite. Finally, it is a matter of justice. With such a system in place, some people will always fall through the cracks. Those people are far too numerous already.