Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that the parliamentary secretary spoke about the reporting system. She made a comparison with the United States. In our opinion, the main problem is that manufacturers were not required to report the impending shortage. As early as 2010, they knew that shortages of some drugs were approaching. In her speech, the parliamentary secretary boasted about the voluntary reporting system. To be honest, there is not much difference between a voluntary reporting system and no system at all. If, for one reason or another, the companies do not announce that there will be a shortage of certain drugs, there is no way we would get this information.
In the United States, a significant shortage led President Obama to issue an order for mandatory reporting of upcoming shortages. The United States Congress is thinking of requiring six months' advance notice of shortages, and any company failing to comply could be fined up to $1.8 million.
Can the parliamentary secretary tell us how a voluntary reporting system could have prevented this, when manufacturers already knew that a drug shortage was coming? A mandatory reporting system would have allowed our health care providers to better prepare.