Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to speak on this bill. First, a historical overview is important.
We must remember that Canada wanted a system that would allow for an industry researching new medicines, based in large part on a model adopted by Brian Mulroney's Conservative government. An agreement was reached with the research industry. As a result, if the government assured it stable conditions over a number of years, the industry would, in return, commit to investing in research. In fact, both parties kept their commitment, which allowed the establishment of a very sound research industry, particularly in Quebec.
In addition to the federal government's conditions, the Quebec government implemented proposals and ways to protect such medicines. Today, we see the numerous and significant spin-offs of this. In the greater Montreal area, many people are making a good living from this industry, thanks to generous salaries. This phenomenon has also spread to the Quebec City region.
Today, the bill before the House proposes to set aside what we call the linkage regulations, which corresponds to the compromise developed to create a balance between research companies developing new products, which have to invest significant funds to do so, and the generic companies copying drugs, which want to ensure their availability to the most people possible. The balance that we have tried to create is extremely fragile. In fact, for quite some time, each party, both the generic drug manufacturers and the manufacturers of new drugs resulting from indepth research, has been trying to ensure that the conditions regulating this sector are to its advantage.
I have been sitting on the Standing Committee on Industry, Sciences and Technology for two or three years, and my predecessors in the Bloc Québécois did so for 10 years. The fact of the matter is that we have always been confronted with the same reality. Whenever we are listening to the arguments by one side or the other, we find some parts acceptable and some questionable. Ultimately, one constant emerges: what is most detrimental to research and development is the desire for constant change. This has adverse consequences. In the drug manufacturing industry, competition can be seen not only between research companies, but also within the companies, according to the country where they are established. For example, in Canada, when the regulatory environment is changed, the head office in the United States or Europe stands to benefit if we make regular changes and let it be known that these changes will be detrimental to these research companies.
This is the case to some extent with the bill before us. It reflects the vision of the member who introduced it, which is that, whether the drugs are research-based or generic, tough competition among drug manufacturers should be encouraged in order to maintain prices at a minimum. But the bill overlooks an important consequence: this would very significantly disrupt the current job structure in the industry. I find it difficult to believe that this is an appropriate solution.
It is important that this debate be a public one. The public has to be aware of the consequences of the choices made by governments. In this sense, it would be interesting if all angles of dealing with the issue could be presented in this House.
At the same time, we in the Bloc Québécois obviously cannot support such an approach, as it would have too great a negative impact on the economy.
When we look at how drug pricing works in Canada, there are other solutions which have to be considered as well, to determine their relevance. The fact should also be taken into account that, at present, the Department of Industry, in cooperation with the Department of Health, is conducting consultations on a proposed amendment to the linkage regulations. These consultations are continuing until February 24.
We have already heard from the generic companies to the effect that they will reject the proposed amendments as drafted. It is possible that when the consultations and negotiations are over, by February 24 or a few days later, we will be able to reach a compromise solution. That is what I want. For the moment, that is where these companies stand.
As for the research-based companies, we do not yet know their official position. The proposed amendments to the linkage regulations may be acceptable to young companies just beginning to develop products.
However, they may not appeal to the older companies that have well-established products. The inverse may also be true. The analysis is not yet complete on that side.
Nevertheless, it must be said that many of the realities of pharmaceutical manufacturing do change over time. Thus, 25 years ago pharmaceuticals did not have the mission they have today, of prevention and insurance. For example, the cost of a drug to lower blood cholesterol rates, which the patient has to pay for, may seem significant, but the cost for society is much less than if it had to pay for surgery. There are financial costs and also human costs related to this.
Thus, it must be studied very thoroughly and very carefully. At present, I am leaning much more in favour of a approach that would try to ensure that the consultation being carried out by the departments of industry and health is done properly and done transparently enough that, in the end, if we do eventually amend the linkage regulations in a way that is acceptable to both parties, we will be resolving an important issue.
I do not think, however, that doing away with the linkage regulations today would solve anything. I am sure that there would be a great deal of opposition in this House against it. It would be worthwhile seeking the opinion of international experts who would not have to issue opinions on drug quality per se, but only on the economic impact of such a decision. This would enable us to see immediately that this was inappropriate for the economy of Quebec and of Canada in general.
There is so much being put into creating research structures for training academics, who must have opportunities available to them in the end. It would not be to the advantage of the people of Quebec and of Canada to become nothing more than consumers of the most economical drugs. We also need people who produce drugs, not just experimental drugs, but also generic drugs under reasonable conditions.
The linkage regulations have been through so much over the past 10 years that now we have identified the gaps and areas that need work. I do not think it is necessary to start from scratch. Instead we could see whether the government's proposed amendments are acceptable or not.
The most concrete example, albeit very complicated, that I can give is that during the creation of a new drug by a company, the generic company can ask for permission to reproduce the drug and the research company that created the drug can ask for an injunction. Under the current act and regulations, there can even be multiple injunctions, which means the generic product will never enter the market.
There may be a way to refine this so as to reach a solution that limits the number of injunctions that can be made. There will be a mechanism that will help continue to create jobs, which is what we want.
I hope this bill will not be passed by the House. It was tabled with many good intentions regarding the impact on the availability of cheaper drugs. However, when we look at all the data, the economic repercussions and the quality of the drugs, we realize that we have to make sure that this is handled properly.
We realize that other problems have surfaced because of online pharmacies. We realize that some prices of generic drugs in Canada are much higher than they should be while prices of drugs and research products are controlled on the market. We realize there are also implications for the provinces.
For all these reasons, I think the route proposed in the bill is not appropriate.