Evidence of meeting #16 for Health in the 39th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was patients.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Judy Wasylycia-Leis NDP Winnipeg North, MB
On a point of order, Mr. Chairperson, could we have five more minutes to hear the witnesses? I'm sure we could get our business done within 20 to 25 minutes.
NDP
Board Member, Canadian Health Coalition
Very quickly, such an agency would not require much in the way of resources but the commitment of the industry, the government politically, and the regulators to accept an independent agency that functions in a quasi-judicial fashion and cannot be influenced by the money of the industry.
I would say that it would cost approximately—I'm guessing here—maybe $20 million annually. It's not a big sum, when you consider the billions of dollars of profit that are at stake and the thousands and thousands of lives that are being lost without such a board.
Chair, Drug Safety Canada
If I could comment too, the figures that I gave the committee from the Canadian Pharmacists Association—$2 billion to $9 billion in savings if drugs were only prescribed appropriately, and another $10 billion for care from adverse drug reactions—mean that $19 billion would be on the table in savings if drugs were only prescribed when appropriate.
Liberal
The Vice-Chair Liberal Lui Temelkovski
Thank you very much.
Now we'll move to an in camera session. I will allow the witnesses to take a moment to—
Conservative
Steven Fletcher Conservative Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia, MB
If we are to go in camera, I have point of order first.
Conservative
Steven Fletcher Conservative Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia, MB
The point of order deals with testimony from the last meeting; it's just a clarification of the record. There was some testimony given by the Canadian Society of Transplantation that I think is incorrect.
Liberal
The Vice-Chair Liberal Lui Temelkovski
We will look at the testimony. It's there on record, and unless they've written to us to tell us that it's different—
Conservative
Steven Fletcher Conservative Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia, MB
No, no. I'm suggesting that they misspoke, and I just want to clarify the record.
Liberal
Conservative
Conservative
Steven Fletcher Conservative Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia, MB
No, no, it's not a point of debate.
Liberal
The Vice-Chair Liberal Lui Temelkovski
Our analysts are capable enough of figuring out what has been misspoken—and you can tell us about this afterwards.
Conservative
Steven Fletcher Conservative Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia, MB
Okay.
On another point of order, it turns out that the Canadian Society of Transplantation was in fact consulted by Health Canada during the consultations we had. The president recognizes this in a newsletter that he printed out. It says:
Our community also finds itself in the midst of a large number of changes with implementation of the CSA Standards, Health Canada developing regulations for Transplant Programs and CCDT developing consensus papers for donation and transplantation practice. CST is working with Health Canada and CCDT to ensure that the community is well represented during these initiatives.
I also have three or four decks from Health Canada.
Liberal
The Vice-Chair Liberal Lui Temelkovski
Thank you.
Mr. Fletcher, thanks for putting that on the record, but you're aware that's not a point of order.
I think we'll have a break and then go in camera
Thank you.
[Proceedings continue in camera]