Mr. Speaker, I welcome the opportunity to speak to the Auditor General's audit on federal drug plans. In particular, this is an issue that is fundamental to good governance. I am referring to accountability and value for money.
The public is very clear that its tax dollars should be spent on programs and services that improve the lives of Canadians. It is our jobs as elected representatives to ensure that the Government of Canada is responsible when it comes to public expenditures. It should come as no surprise then that the Auditor General should choose to look at the federal management of prescription drug benefits and the possible misuse by clients of prescription drugs paid for under Canada's non-insured health benefit program.
Health Canada has been actively working to address these matters and, while there remains much work ahead, we have already accomplished a great deal to bring us closer to these goals. The active agenda adopted by Health Canada to manage in an efficient manner the NIHB has meant that this program continues to serve the people it is intended to help while keeping expenditures low.
Let me tell the House of the progress we have made and the actions we intend to take.
On the matter of better coordination, we see that federal departments are working together to more effectively explore cost saving drug use and greater system efficiency. In addition, we are working with the provinces and territories to implement changes to improve the delivery of prescription drug insurance, as witnessed by the recent commitments of first ministers to develop a national pharmaceutical strategy.
Further, Health Canada will continue to be actively involved in the current federal, provincial and territorial pharmacy management group, and we have worked with our federal colleagues to develop a common action plan to implement the Auditor General's recommendations.
As we all know, first nations and Inuit populations are disproportionately experiencing both population growth and chronic disease. This makes cost management a key challenge for the NIHB program. However the need to contain costs must of course be balanced with ensuring access to quality health services and considering potential impacts on our relationship with health care providers. To this end, Health Canada has continued to encourage the use of lower cost drugs and to promote the use, where appropriate, of generic drugs.
Further, the Auditor General herself has recognized the department's own rigorous pharmacy audit program, and let us remember that despite the greater need and the rapid growth of client groups, the costs of the NIHB have risen at rates comparable to those of drug plans in other jurisdictions.
In future, the department will improve cost benefit analysis to obtain the best price for drugs and the most efficient delivery practices. We will continue to implement cost saving strategies and streamline service delivery in accordance with the national pharmaceutical strategy.
The Auditor General has also raised concerns regarding the misuse of prescription drugs, an issue that Health Canada has been working on since the Auditor General first raised it in 1997. I am pleased to tell the House that Health Canada has adopted a comprehensive drug utilization review program and has recommenced quarterly safety reviews which are an important part in addressing client safety.
I have much to go through and I see that I am running out of time but I should say, as the member knows, that the Auditor General has appeared three times on the question of this report to House committees and has indicated that she is optimistic on the moves taken by Health Canada and other federal agencies to implement her recommendations.