Madam Speaker, one thing my friend and colleague did not talk about much was that CETA will lead to increased costs of prescription drugs for Canadians.
In fact, Jim Keon, president of the Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association said:
A study prepared for the CGPA by two leading Canadian health economists in early 2011 estimated that, if adopted, the proposals would delay the introduction of new generic medicines in Canada by an average of three and a half years. The cost to pharmaceutical payers of this delay was estimated at $2.8 billion annually, based on generic prices in 2010.
When the Liberals were in opposition, they agreed with the NDP that greater analysis was needed, as well as compensation to the provinces.
Will the member opposite explain why the Liberals are comfortable signing-off on CETA without any further analysis of how these increased drug costs will impact the people in their riding?