Health Committee on March 10th, 2026

[Bettina Hamelin]

The innovative pharmaceutical industry is very interested in working together with government to find the right policy solutions that work for Canada and for Canadians and that assure Canadians get the medicines they need when they need them.

It's important to note that Canada has underinvested in innovation for a long time. That is why we find ourselves in a situation where we are rather dependent on the global supply chain. On the other hand, that is also a good thing, because that is how Canada has access to the most innovative discoveries that are tackling cures and tackling prevention.

[Burton Bailey, Conservative, Red Deer, AB]

Thank you.

Dr. Somers, your commentaries have criticized Liberal narcotic policies, like the so-called safe supply. I dislike the term “safe supply”. I think it's a terrible term. I think it should be “controlled supply”.

How has government censorship or data suppression prevented effective strategies for addictions treatment within a sovereign pharmaceutical framework to protect Canadians' health and well-being?

Again, I'm going to have to ask you for a short answer, please.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Dan Mazier]

You have 10 seconds.

[Burton Bailey, Conservative, Red Deer, AB]

How about 15 seconds?

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Dan Mazier]

Hurry up. You have 15 seconds.

[Julian M. Somers]

The ability to flow money without disclosure into points of influence—universities, researchers and clinicians—distorts the appeal of pharmaceuticals—

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Dan Mazier]

I'm really sorry. We're way over here.

[Burton Bailey, Conservative, Red Deer, AB]

Chair, could we get him to table that for me, please? Thank you.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Dan Mazier]

If you could table your response, that would be fantastic.

Mr. Danko, you have five minutes.

[John-Paul Danko, Liberal, Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas, ON]

Thank you, Chair.

I have a couple of questions for Ms. Hamelin and maybe Ms. Creighton.

Ms. Hamelin, you started your initial remarks by bringing forward a number of Canadian success stories. I just want to highlight a few in my riding in Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas. Life sciences is the largest employer in Hamilton.

OmniaBio is a CAR-T cell therapy pharmaceutical company that is developing pediatric brain cancer medications. Fusion Pharmaceuticals is developing medical radiation isotopes and therapies and was recently acquired by AstraZeneca for over $2 billion, I think. AtomVie is also in the radiopharmaceutical industry.

Ms. Hamelin, how can we help those Canadian success stories scale and grow to be able to compete on the global market?

[Bettina Hamelin]

We need to create an environment for these companies to be successful and to go beyond the discovery and development to reach Canadian patients.

It's quite shocking to hear that many success stories in Canada.... We have seen several. Michel Bouvier has spoken to some. The medicines are not getting onto our formularies because of the lengthy delays. It is about the processes that need to be modernized to create an environment that set positive market signals. The industry is now competing globally. We can look to China, for example. A third of pharmaceutical innovation today is coming out of China. Why? In 2015, China invested in regulatory reforms, R and D, clinical research infrastructure and partnerships, and now we see this accelerated growth of innovation in China.

We need Canada to be strategic and to think not only in the short term but in the medium and long terms to build an ecosystem that sets the right market signals. What that needs is clear, predictable, supportive policies to bring innovative medicines to patients.

[John-Paul Danko, Liberal, Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas, ON]

Thank you so much, Ms. Hamelin.

In this context as well, you talked about the risk at the border. Those three pharmaceutical businesses that I mentioned make very time-sensitive products, and they have mentioned the uncertainty at the U.S. border in getting their medications back and forth as a constraint on their business.

Ms. Creighton, do you have anything to add on how we help those Canadian businesses succeed?

[Terry Creighton]

I think Bettina is right. We need an environment that supports the continuum from innovation through to production. Innovation is certainly important, and vaccine production is certainly important, but that's not what Canadians take every single day. Those are not the drugs you find in your medicine cabinet. Those are not the ones on your bedside table every night.

If we don't have access to essential medicines that are made here in Canada, we are very vulnerable, and we are beholden to the rest of the world for our supply. If we don't have a healthy environment for drug production, and that is what we are talking about, then all of the innovation can go on, but it's going to end up somewhere else anyway.

[John-Paul Danko, Liberal, Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas, ON]

Thank you. I'm sorry to cut you off. I have about 45 seconds seconds left.

I want to switch gears and go to the labour market. What is part of Canada's commercial advantage in science and research technology? I represent a riding that has three post-secondary institutions, McMaster, Mohawk, and Redeemer. How important is it to have access to the best talent in the world, Ms. Creighton?

[Terry Creighton]

I said in my remarks that Canadians are very good at making medicines. The companies that I represent have deep Canadian roots. They have been here for decades, from the 1960s and 1970s, and they have created a workforce in Canada that is particularly skilled at making medicines.

In my opinion, there is not enough support for that end of the spectrum, workforce support. Many of the people who work in these facilities are recruited from elsewhere in the world. They come to Canada. They've had experience in drug manufacturing in places like India. You walk around a facility in Canada and you see many of those people, new Canadians, contributing greatly.

We should be able to train people here in Canada to do that as well, because workforce is an issue. There are always job postings in all of these companies, and they have difficulty filling those roles.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Dan Mazier]

Thank you.

Now we'll go to Mr. Blanchette-Joncas.

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski—La Matapédia, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Ms. Hamelin, the pharmaceutical industry said it wanted to invest in research and development to the tune of about 10% of its sales revenue in Canada. According to the data from the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board, that percentage varies between 4% and 5%.

How do you explain this discrepancy?

[Bettina Hamelin]

This is related to the business environment in Canada, an environment that does not allow pharmaceutical companies to bring drugs to market in order to have them listed on formularies accessible to patients and physicians.

As a result, that environment is not very open to innovation or to the commercialization of innovative medicines. This prevents companies from investing. The situation will soon get worse, given the presidential decrees issued by the President of the United States, who asked not only Canada but all the countries of the world to contribute more to innovation.

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski—La Matapédia, QC]

If I understand correctly, you're not meeting your commitments because the investment environment isn't favourable. Let's get this straight. Canada represents about 2% of the global pharmaceutical market.

Do multinationals today see Canada as a market to sell drugs or as a place to invest?

[Bettina Hamelin]

The two go together. The industry invests $3.2 billion a year in research and development in Canada. It has 110,000 employees, and generates $18.4 billion in economic benefits. We have to acknowledge the investments that the industry makes.

However, the government is delaying drug approvals and reimbursement. The two go together. It's not one or the other. You have to approve drugs for patients, and that's tied to an investment. Now, with the most favoured nation clause—

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski—La Matapédia, QC]

What you're saying, Ms. Hamelin, is that it's the government's fault if you don't meet your commitment to invest 10% of your sales revenue in research and development.

Is that correct?

[Bettina Hamelin]

It's a partnership between the government and the industry. The industry is investing heavily in Canada.

Should we do more? Yes.

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski—La Matapédia, QC]

Whose fault is it, Ms. Hamelin? Who is responsible?

[Bettina Hamelin]

It's the fault of an environment that is changing—

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski—La Matapédia, QC]

Who is part of the environment?