Mr. Speaker, I will share my time with the member for Verchères—Les-Patriotes. This very important will facilitate access to pharmaceutical products in developing countries, which need help the most.
We must remember that this bill follows a bill that was tabled quickly last fall, before the House was prorogued. Its purpose is to implement the WTO's decision to make patented drugs available to people in developing countries, in countries that need them the most. Indeed, we have identified very serious problems on our planet that make it necessary to provide assistance to these countries as quickly as possible. Everyone knows about HIV-AIDS, but there are also tuberculosis, malaria and some other diseases.
The international community finally arrived at a conclusion at the WTO, which usually deals exclusively with trade issues. Very strong pressure came from non-governmental organizations and developing countries, which said that it made no sense that, today, we could not supply these countries, at a reasonable cost, with the drugs they absolutely need to eliminate major health crises.
After some strong arguments were made, the WTO issued a somewhat historic ruling providing for the withdrawal from all trade agreements of the provisions pertaining to these drugs, so that such drugs can be obtained at a reasonable cost, with the process not being viewed as a commercial transaction. In the wake of this decision, Canada was the first country to table legislation to implement this international agreement domestically.
I remind hon. members that the bill was introduced in the fall. When the House resumed its business in the spring, we realized that the initial bill needed some important amendments, a fact that the minister herself admitted when she appeared before the committee. The committee did a thorough job. Members from all political parties helped make the bill what it is now, at third reading.
Of course, we may not all agree on every detail of the legislation. This is a very complex bill. Supplying drugs to African countries may seem simple, but it is a very complex process. Indeed, we must see that it complies with the rules governing patents, while also ensuring supply at a reasonable cost. This has required a lot of work on the technical aspects of this initiative and on how to make the whole thing operational.
Major representations were made by NGOs and developing countries. The formula proposed at first reading gave patented drug companies the right of first refusal. This mechanism did not allow for real competition. An effort was made by these companies, through the association representing them, to propose a new procedure.
We discussed this issue in committee. We got some advice and we found a formula that would change the procedure for generic companies, which will have to bid on these projects and contracts, to ensure that they are not constantly blocked by an unsatisfactory mechanism. Today, we have a much more interesting formula in the bill.
This has made it possible, among other things, to have a formula on the establishment of royalties, not a fixed royalty or the absence of royalties, but a mechanism that will ensure that royalties are based on the wealth of the countries. Hence, no country will pay more than 4%. However, for a country that is among the poorest, the royalty will be much closer to 0%. I think the fact that this mechanism is included in the bill is a plus. It is worth a try. We will see what the outcome will be.
There are two other major elements. Many drugs were added to the list originally tabled by the government. On the one hand, we ensured that these drugs were in compliance with the World Health Organization's definitions and that, if drugs produced in Canada did not comply with the World Health Organization's requirements, they would be recognized as such by Health Canada. This makes for a much more interesting offer of services.
On the other hand, we also extended the list of countries that would be able to have access to these drugs. On this issue also I think that everyone demonstrated goodwill to ensure this outcome.
We must never forget that the final goal is to make the drugs available at a lower price. Therefore, there must be some competition so that the long term results will be democratization of this phenomenon and lower prices. On that point, I believe we have a bill that goes in the right direction.
We also wanted to make sure that no significant contraband market develops. It would have been very unpleasant to pass a law that made it possible to supply developing countries and find that the drugs had made their way to the markets of North and South America and Europe through dishonest activities. Significant additions were made to the bill in this respect, particularly in the ability to follow a drug from its point of origin, when it is manufactured in Canada, until its distribution in the country where it is needed. It should be possible to trace every step.
In committee, we were assured that the government would stipulate in the regulations that these drugs should be a specific colour. Some particular technical aspects still need to be addressed because, it is not necessarily easy to respect this concept of colour for drugs given by injection. Nevertheless, the regulations will contain the measures necessary to be able to find these drugs easily and if any misuse were discovered, the responsible parties could be found and the activity stopped.
There is an important clause in this bill, and that is the fact that it will be reviewed in three years. We are among the first countries to have legislation on this matter. We will discover the day-to-day reality of this legislation and in three years we will review it. I think that in this way we can say that parliamentarians have done their job correctly. It may not be a perfect law, but here is a bill that will enable us to improve the distribution of pharmaceutical products.
In addition to this legislation, the government will also have to increase the moneys available for international assistance and cooperation. Indeed, it is not enough to merely supply the drugs and ship them abroad. These drugs must be properly administered and there must be an adequate follow-up. We heard horror stories. In the past, some drugs ended up in a warehouse and remained there until after their expiry date, because of a control problem. This is totally unacceptable considering the health needs of African countries.
All these measures are found in the bill. From the outset, the Bloc Quebecois had hoped that the bill would be passed as quickly as possible, but that it would also be functional, meet expectations and achieve the objectives set. The bill that was introduced in the fall would not have done that. In our opinion, the bill that is now before Parliament, at third reading, does meet these objectives. We will have to follow up on it, so that we can make the necessary improvements when the time comes to review it.
In conclusion, I hope that, five or ten years from now, we will be able to say that, by passing this bill, we all contributed to improve the quality of health throughout the world, and particularly in the countries that need it most.