Thank you.
My question is for Dr. Lexchin on the issue of the proposed changes to the PMPRB. I'm no expert on this subject, but it certainly seems to me that a lot of pharmaceutical companies want to play hardball with the government. They basically say that if we don't drop these proposed changes, they're either not going to bring their product onto the market in Canada, or they're certainly going to delay it. If it costs Canadian lives or Canadian health, so be it. We started it. It's us.
Even though I think these proposed changes are not coming even close to eliminating profits made by pharmaceutical companies, it's about limiting those profits. Maybe evidently, I'm not impressed with this pharmaceutical company approach and the fact that they seem to be holding Canadians hostage to their demands.
How can the Canadian government level the playing field as we discuss how to go forward? I think you've written on this. What do you think about the possibility of our introducing compulsory licensing in order to level the playing field in our negotiations with drug companies?