Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Thank you to the witnesses for providing us with your expertise this morning.
I wanted to discuss the actual motion that we're here to discuss, and I know we talked about it briefly at the beginning of the meeting. It is to examine “the role of government and industry in determining drug supply in Canada, how the provinces and territories determine what drugs are required in their jurisdiction, how the industry responds to them, and the impact this has on stakeholders.”
I know we've certainly talked about the role of government and industry. I don't know that we've talked as much about how the provinces and territories determine what drugs are required and how the industry responds, etc.
We know that the provinces and territories are responsible for the management, organization, and delivery of health services for their residents and that they have the primary responsibility for health care delivery, including which drugs they buy and how they source them. That's what I want to talk about.
Mr. O'Rourke, you talked about strategies to minimize the impact on patients. Sorry, I'm paraphrasing there. What are your views on the sole-sourcing of contracts, and if provinces are going to sole-source the contract, what role do you think they have in ensuring that there is some sort of backup plan?