In addition to the many months of consultations that we held with Canadians, this committee's careful review of this bill contributed to the successful passage of Vanessa's Law. I feel that we've made very real progress in the last year on improving public health and safety, and nowhere is this more apparent than with the royal assent of Vanessa's Law. Vanessa's Law contains some of the most profound changes to the Food and Drugs Act in more than 50 years. It's truly an historic step in our government's continuous improvements to patient safety, especially over the past several years.
Thanks to the hard work of this committee, and Vanessa's Law, Canadians can have renewed confidence that the medicines they are using are safe. As Minister of Health I now have the powers to recall a drug and take it off store shelves when it's not safe. For the very first time, serious adverse drug reactions and medical device incidents will have to be reported by health care institutions. As well, as you know full well, courts can now impose penalties on drug companies that include up to $5 million per day or jail time for distributing unsafe products. Also, we can compel drug companies to revise labels so that they clearly reflect health risk information, including updates for health warnings for children. We can direct companies to do further testing on a product, including when issues are identified with specific at-risk populations such as children.
Many of these new powers came into effect with the royal assent of Vanessa's Law, and we are moving quickly to put regulations in place to support other powers, such as the requirement for all authorized clinical trials to be registered, and some elements of mandatory adverse reaction reporting for health care institutions.
Canadians need access to information, especially when it comes to their health, and beyond Vanessa's Law we've made great progress in increasing transparency through Health Canada's regulatory transparency and openness framework and action plan. For example, Health Canada has begun to post summaries of drug safety reviews that both patients and medical professionals can use to make informed decisions. Patients can also check the clinical trials database to determine if a clinical trial they are interested in has met regulatory requirements. These concrete initiatives are making more information on departmental decision-making and results available to Canadians in an easy-to-understand format. More can always be done. I have asked my officials to accelerate the implementation of the transparency initiative.
I would also like to congratulate this committee on your report on the serious health risks and harms of marijuana. As this committee noted, smoking marijuana has serious health risks for youth. As many of you know, Health Canada launched an awareness campaign aimed at educating parents on how to talk with their teenage children about the dangers associated with prescription drug abuse and smoking marijuana, in line with recommendations included in your report. Television ads began airing in October focusing on the developing brains and bodies of teenagers and how marijuana use, as well as prescription drug abuse, can cause permanent damage to their development and put educational achievement and long-term mental health at serious risk.
The department developed web and social media content as well on the dangers associated with marijuana and prescription drug abuse in order to encourage parents to get the facts, and tips on how to speak with their children on drug use and abuse. As this committee will know, our government has also committed almost $45 million over five years to expand the national anti-drug strategy to now also include prescription drug abuse. The many dangerous and unpredictable consequences of drug abuse make this a very real and widespread public health issue, and no one feels that more acutely than Canadian families.
Over the past year I've met with health officials, physicians, pharmacists, first nations representatives, law enforcement, addiction specialists and medical associations to discuss how we can collectively tackle prescription drug abuse. I've issued a call for proposals to seek new ways to improve prescribing practices for opioids and other drugs that pose a high risk of abuse or addiction. Additionally, we are now providing funding to build on initiatives to support research on new clinical and community-based interventions for preventing and treating prescription drug abuse.
I'd like now to turn to innovation in health care, Mr. Chair.
As you know, Canadians benefit from a system that provides access to high-quality care and supports good health outcomes, but with Canada's aging population and a growing burden of chronic disease, we know we need to accelerate the pace of change. That's why I launched the advisory panel on health care innovation back in June. It's headed by Dr. David Naylor and this panel has truly hit the ground running.
The panel is consulting broadly across Canada, identifying promising areas for innovation, and determining how the federal government can help accelerate that progress. In fact, the panel is eager to hear from Canadians from across the country in an online consultation that runs until December 5. I anticipate the arrival of the final report by the end of May and I look forward to sharing this information with members of this committee.
Mr. Chair, Canadians expect their federal government to play a major role in sustaining our high-quality health care system. Today, I want to reinforce that our government is at the table and we want to make sure Canadians have the highest level of care.
Once again, thank you for inviting me to be here today to speak with you. My officials and I are pleased to take any questions that you may have.