Evidence of meeting #10 for International Trade in the 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was ceta.

A recording is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Jim Keon  President, Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association
Ailish Campbell  Vice-President, Policy, International and Fiscal Issues, Canadian Council of Chief Executives
Jody Cox  Director, Federal Government Relations, Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association
Ruth Salmon  Executive Director, Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance
Jim Everson  Vice-President, Government Relations, Canola Council of Canada

9:15 a.m.

Vice-President, Policy, International and Fiscal Issues, Canadian Council of Chief Executives

Ailish Campbell

I would say a few quick things. The first is that the solidity of our banking system has made our institutions globally well known. As well, our insurance services providers have used the last few years to acquire assets that were either nationalized or in distress. They are bringing to Europe that strong Canadian brand— strong regulatory and public governance systems, along with dynamic products and a reputation for excellent customer service.

I would say Canada is strong in engineering services. We think our internal accreditation of engineering services across Canada, our high engineering standards, will help us to take advantage of our capacity in clean tech, in oil and gas, and in other energy services in future work within the European Union.

I can't resist taking a moment to comment on your question about generics. First of all, intellectual property provisions are a policy to drive innovation, not contain costs. If you're looking at cost containment, look to provincial cost containment, bulk purchasing, but also look to the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board. Somehow the European Union has managed to have these intellectual property protections in place, while spending less than Canada on drugs, as a percentage of GDP. So how the European Union has managed drug prices is something for us to look at.

Second, to have a healthy generic industry, you have to have patented medicines to copy. We want to create a strong and vibrant R and D and innovative continuum here in Canada. Let's focus on health outcomes. Drugs help Canadians feel better. Innovations create new therapies that keep Canadians in work, keep Canadians healthy, and keep Canadians active. I encourage the committee not to lose sight of the big picture of innovation and health outcomes when considering the balance between IP protection and our important generic industry, which is also a significant employer in Canada.

9:15 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Rob Merrifield

Thank you very much.

Mr. Pacetti.

December 3rd, 2013 / 9:15 a.m.

Liberal

Massimo Pacetti Liberal Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you to the witnesses for coming today. Mr. Keon, what was your involvement with the negotiations? Was your organization consulted during the negotiations?

9:15 a.m.

President, Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association

Jim Keon

Yes. We met with the negotiators on a number of occasions and presented our arguments to them. We made sure that we sent in written submissions to government on regular occasions.

9:15 a.m.

Liberal

Massimo Pacetti Liberal Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC

So you had active input?

9:15 a.m.

President, Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association

9:15 a.m.

Liberal

Massimo Pacetti Liberal Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC

You spoke a little on how the generic companies are going to be treated in Canada. How are the generic companies currently treated in Europe?

9:15 a.m.

President, Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association

Jim Keon

In Europe they have a restrictive regime in patent extensions, which makes it difficult to enter the market. Where they have a system that's better than ours is our patent linkage system. They do not face that.

So in Canada we cannot get our approval from Health Canada until we demonstrate we've addressed a whole series of patents. That leads, as I said, to an excessive amount of litigation in Canada.

9:20 a.m.

Liberal

Massimo Pacetti Liberal Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC

They don't have that in Europe?

9:20 a.m.

President, Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association

Jim Keon

They do not have that in Europe. They will not have that going forward.

9:20 a.m.

Liberal

Massimo Pacetti Liberal Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC

So once the patent expires the generics kick in?

9:20 a.m.

President, Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association

Jim Keon

In the European Union they have patent extensions and then after that the generic enters the market, but what they don't have is the amount of litigation we do. There's much less per capita in Europe than in Canada.

9:20 a.m.

Liberal

Massimo Pacetti Liberal Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC

What is the position of the generic companies in Europe? What is their feeling? Are they in favour of the agreement?

9:20 a.m.

President, Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association

Jim Keon

Interestingly, Canada did not make demands of Europe in the pharmaceutical area, so there will be no changes in the pharmaceutical IP regime in Europe.

9:20 a.m.

Liberal

Massimo Pacetti Liberal Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC

Okay. That's what I thought. I'm sorry to interrupt but my time is limited.

Are you going to be able to export to Europe? What is your competition base in Europe?

9:20 a.m.

President, Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association

Jim Keon

We have some exports to Europe, and we would hope to continue and build on those.

9:20 a.m.

Liberal

Massimo Pacetti Liberal Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC

Will that require any investment changes?

9:20 a.m.

President, Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association

Jim Keon

Sure. I think going forward when we're looking at new products there's always new investment in new equipment, the latest technology. Some of these are slow-release products, and we're hoping to—

9:20 a.m.

Liberal

Massimo Pacetti Liberal Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC

Would you be able to handle the additional capacity right away? That's the first thing.

9:20 a.m.

President, Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association

Jim Keon

Absolutely. Our companies are all forward looking and will be looking forward to—

9:20 a.m.

Liberal

Massimo Pacetti Liberal Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC

Just another quick question before I go to Ms. Campbell. During the patent approval period you stated that you can sell to other markets. What other markets would that be?

9:20 a.m.

President, Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association

Jim Keon

Any market where the patent has already expired. We've found right now, prior to patent extension in Canada, that our patents expire sometimes earlier than in the U.S., sometimes later.

For example, if a patent has expired in the U.S. and has not yet in Canada, our companies like Apotex and Teva would be able to compete to get that investment in Canada.

9:20 a.m.

Liberal

Massimo Pacetti Liberal Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC

So you can go into the States and other parts of the world and compete?

9:20 a.m.

President, Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association

Jim Keon

Once it's implemented. If it's implemented properly we would be able to, but only during the patent extension period, that last two years.

9:20 a.m.

Liberal

Massimo Pacetti Liberal Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC

Okay. Thank you.

Ms. Campbell, thank you also for appearing. I guess your organization was consulted as well.