Mr. Speaker, Canadians are needlessly suffering because federal health bureaucrats in the Surveillance Management Program are dragging their feet on new pharmaceutical drug approvals. In fact, Canada's drug approval process is slower than most other developed nations and the problem is getting worse, not better.
Dr. Russell, a researcher from the University of Alberta, was providing his patients with an exciting new drug to treat arthritis on a trial basis. However, after the trial was over his patients were no longer able to get access to this medicine even though every other country in the developed world has the approved the drug.
Dr. Russell is now doing the only thing his conscience will allow: he is providing his patients with a safe and effective but still unapproved drug.
The Minister of Health has to make a decision. Does he want Dr. Russell to continue to provide his patients with an unapproved drug or would he prefer to force these sick people to wait in pain until Health Canada bureaucrats catch up to the rest of the world?