Thank you, Chair.
I'd like to ask Dr. Lexchin about off-label prescribing. You've written about it many times over the years, Dr. Lexchin. I know that approximately 70% of doctors prescribe off label at least part of the time or some of the time. I'm not suggesting that it's all bad because it's relatively common. But it can be much riskier for patients because first, the drug was not proven safe and effective for that condition. It's driven by or stems from, in many cases, illegal marketing. That is, the drug reps in the doctors' offices whispering in their ears or taking them to lunch or getting them to prescribe the drug for something that isn't proven safe. Third, it's driven primarily, on the drug company side at least, to create blockbuster drugs that sell $1 billion a year or $2 billion or $3 billion or $4 billion.
Recognizing that it's a provincial jurisdiction, do you feel that the powers included in Vanessa's law, allowing the minister to require additional testing, will be helpful in addressing inappropriate off-label prescribing?