It's certain that our government is committed to strengthening Canada's health care system, and that includes enhancing accessibility and affordability, and appropriate prescription drug use. At the end of the day, that's absolutely a priority of our government.
In budget 2017 we were able to invest $140 million to lower drug prices, improve access to prescription drugs, and support the appropriate use of medication. We were also able to join our provincial and territorial partners, and we became members of the pan-Canadian pharmaceutical alliance. This enabled us to actually do bulk buying when it came to prescription medication. As a result, we've been able to save a significant amount of money with respect to the costs related to that.
As I'm sure you're aware—because you've been doing some studies—we are in the process of modernizing the patented medicines regulations in the Patent Act, and that is certainly going to be very helpful in the work that needs to be done. When we look at the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board, modernizing it is something that hasn't been done for many years, so it is certainly a step in the right direction. I look forward to the continued work that's going to be done there.
I'm also aware that your committee has done in-depth research on this issue, and once again I'm really looking forward to reviewing the recommendations brought forward by the committee, as I think we can certainly continue our conversation.
Finally, I'd like to say that in October I had the privilege, for the first time, of having a meeting with the provincial and territorial health ministers. The issue of drug prices came up, and both the provinces and territories and the federal health department have indicated that it's a priority of ours to improve access to medication. We recognize that Canadians pay way too much for drugs, and that is certainly something we want to address.
Taking these steps to start off is certainly a step in the right direction.