moved:
That, in the opinion of this House, the government should immediately, in consultation with provincial and territorial governments, establish a system for the mandatory reporting of adverse drug reactions.
Mr. Speaker, it is very hard to initiate this debate following two days of very critical discussion in the House around a most extraordinary turn of events in our society. It is very hard to clear our heads and focus on another issue. It is certainly hard to set aside our thoughts and emotions surrounding the terrorist attacks in Washington and New York City one week ago today.
We have set aside the ordinary business of the House to deal with extraordinary events and so we should have. All of our thoughts today are with the families, friends and co-workers of those who died, who are lost or who perished in those destructive acts of horror perpetrated against the people in the United States, but which also affected many Canadians and people around the world.
Our thoughts today are with the people affected by this tragedy. All of us in the House share the sentiments of sympathy expressed by our constituents. Certainly the people of Winnipeg North Centre are no exception. They would want me to extend their condolences to everyone affected by that tragedy and to share their feelings of grief, sorrow, anger and uncertainty around those terrorist activities.
They would also want us to return to normal business, to carry out the priorities of Canadians while still being vigilant in pursuing the eradication of terrorism. We attempt to do that now, to make the transition to regular ordinary business of the House on other issues of significance for Canadians.
The matter before the House today pales in comparison to the events we have had to deal with over the last week. However, the motion is a matter of significant public policy that ought to be addressed very seriously by members in the House today.
The motion addresses the question of the health and well-being of Canadians. It seeks to find a way to end preventable deaths in our society. It seeks to ensure that the medications people are required to take because of illness are safe beyond a reasonable doubt. The motion is quite simple. It calls upon the government in co-operation with provincial and territorial governments to put in place a system of mandatory reporting of adverse drug reactions.
It is estimated that approximately 10,000 people a year die of adverse drug reactions in Canada. It is difficult to ascertain the precise number of deaths that occur because of adverse drug reactions, but it is fair to say that the numbers are very high and many could be prevented.
I am not so naive as to believe that 10,000 deaths a year could be prevented by simply putting in place a system of mandatory reporting of adverse drug reactions. However, I am convinced, as are many others, that if we take steps to require a systematic way of sharing information on adverse reactions, if we require our physicians and our hospitals to report any problems associated with drugs and their interaction with other drugs or with foods, then we will have made a big difference. We probably would help prevent unnecessary deaths, unnecessary illness and difficult circumstances caused by this situation.
The issue crystallized for many of us when we learned about the death of Vanessa Young in March 2000. Vanessa Young was a 15 year old teenager from Oakville, Ontario who died because of the drug she was prescribed, called Prepulsid. That drug was prescribed for the wrong circumstances. By all accounts it was a preventable death. Her father, Terence Young, has carried on with a mission since his daughter's passing to ensure that we as a society learn the lessons of Vanessa's death. It compels us to take action today.
We certainly became much more aware of the problems associated with adverse drug reactions and the absence of policy in this area as a result of Vanessa's death. We owe it to her to ensure that her death is not in vain, that we learn lessons from this tragedy and ensure that people in similar circumstances are not affected by something that is so preventable and so easy to grasp in terms of solutions.
Over the past year I have raised in the House on a couple of occasions the issue of Vanessa Young in particular and the question of adverse drug reactions in general. Our concern really emerged from the knowledge that prior to Vanessa Young's death in March 2000 there were reports of adverse reactions to that drug. Certainly deaths were already associated with the taking of Prepulsid, yet we failed as a government and as a country to convey that information, to share that knowledge and to ensure that all physicians and all pharmacists were aware of the dangers of that drug when prescribed under certain conditions.
I raised with the House at that time that Health Canada had information it could have shared and acted upon many months before the death of Vanessa Young but it failed to do so.
The point of today's debate is not to lay blame but to find solutions. As a result of Vanessa's death there was a coroner's inquest and the jury made a number of recommendations. One is the mandatory reporting of adverse drug reactions within 48 hours of the incident taking place. That seems to be a very responsible and reasonable solution to a serious problem and one on which there is no reason to delay and to avoid action.
During the coroner's inquest, Health Canada officials were reported as saying that they thought it was a good idea but it was beyond the jurisdiction of the federal government. It is quite apparent today that the establishment of a system to require mandatory reporting of adverse drug reactions is well within federal jurisdiction. Certainly it is part of the responsibility that is handed to government through the Food and Drugs Act and requires action and implementation.
It would be a great disservice to Canadians for anyone to argue that this matter is beyond the jurisdiction of the federal government and on which there can be no immediate action. Not only is there the authority under the Food and Drugs Act for the government to act immediately, but there are also models from other jurisdictions on how a system could work. In countries like Britain and France there are models of mandatory reporting that work and which could be employed here in Canada.
Previously there have been pilot projects in Canada that show the idea can work and ought to be developed here. The Ontario Medical Association conducted a pilot project for the Canadian Medical Association about 10 years ago with great success.
Today we propose that precise idea. We hope that the government will see it as a valuable contribution to a very important area and that it will act upon it as soon as possible.
Many concerns have been expressed over the last number of years about changes in drug safety policies in Health Canada, about reduced resources, about an inability on the part of officials to track adverse drug reactions and to get that information out to the appropriate professionals in our society.
The problem was identified clearly in the coroner's inquest. Not only was the question of voluntary reporting outlined as a serious problem but so too was a lack of resources and communication on the part of Health Canada officials. These problems are manageable. They can be corrected without a lot of effort or cost, and this would save lives.
In developing my material for today's debate we spoke with Vanessa Young's father, Terence Young, who is continuing his battle to ensure that justice is done and changes are made in light of the lessons learned from Vanessa's death.
One of the comments he made about mandatory reporting was that it is “the only way to break the conspiracy of silence which the drug companies have created and nurtured, Health Canada has condoned and to which doctors have acquiesced”. That is a strong statement based on the reality he had to face with the death of his daughter. They are words we should listen to carefully and take seriously.
We know that over the last 10 years the use of drug therapy as an important part of our medical system has increased dramatically. However we know at the same time that our systems, resources and policies for dealing with the dramatic increase in the use of drug therapies has not changed or increased.
We are asking the government to recognize that pharmaceuticals play an important part in our medical system, in treating illness and in protecting health and well-being.
However for goodness' sake let us recognize the hazards that come with drug therapies. Governments must employ vigilance to ensure safety is preserved and protected at all costs.
I will conclude by citing again the information we have regarding deaths associated with adverse reactions. I mentioned at the outset that there are estimates of approximately 10,000 people a year dying from adverse drug reactions. That is a tremendous toll on our society that should be addressed. We know from other studies that the problem is real and that the estimates are in line with experience and knowledge.
A study in the United States has shown that in a sample of 10 drugs pulled off U.S. markets for safety reasons between 1997 to 2000, 10% of the adult population in the U.S. had at one time taken the medications. We also know that the number of adverse reactions reported to the FDA almost doubled between 1993 and 1999.
We know from studies in Canada, in particular a 1999 study by Joel Lexchin, an expert in the field of drugs and pharmaceuticals, that in that year there were 2,900 deaths from adverse reactions in Ontario alone.
The toll is great. The costs to our health care system are large and could be prevented. This is a matter that falls within federal jurisdiction. The federal government has the ability under the Food and Drug Act to take action. It is responsible for ensuring the safety of drugs for all Canadians.
Today we ask the government to exert that authority, take responsibility for this serious issue and move as quickly as possible to address the concerns we have enunciated today. These concerns became apparent during the coroner's inquest into the death of Vanessa Young and are very much a part of public policy debate in Canada today.
We ask the government to move seriously on this recommendation and implement, as expeditiously as possible, a system of mandatory reporting of adverse drug reactions.