Madam Minister, we prescribe many drugs in Canada. These are drugs for adults, but they are too often administered to children. In addition, there is no control over the dosage for children or the effects the medication has on them.
An article published recently in the Canadian Medical Association Journal has pointed out that Health Canada does not ask pharmaceutical manufacturers to do clinical trials of prescription drugs for children. Health Canada also does not require that the trials conducted by pharmaceutical companies in other countries be disclosed, which would give very useful information on the use of those drugs and their effects on children.
In the United States, the Pediatric Research Equity Act forces pharmaceutical companies to carry out these types of trials for drugs intended specifically for children.
Why does the Minister of Health not follow the example of the United States and force pharmaceutical companies to give out information that is crucial to the health of children across the country?