If you go back to the Hall commission, that's something that was recommended way back in 1964. Unfortunately, the federal government at the time and in the subsequent years did not get around to doing that.
The federal government has to provide leadership on this issue. It's the one government that could provide the provinces with the support, and arguably with the competency, to do that effectively. So there's a big gap in terms of federal leadership on drugs.
The federal government is in a very odd position, because it extends patent protection but it only pays for 5% of the drugs we use. The provinces pay for a good hunk of that. You and I as individuals, or private insurance companies, pay for the rest.
So it's able to extend patent protection, but it doesn't face the costs. Somebody else does. That creates the kind of odd dynamic we have between the federal and provincial governments around this issue.
That's why I say the federal government has to take leadership on this issue if we are going to make progress.