Mr. Speaker, I reiterate that our priority is to ensure that our system is efficient and responsive to the needs of Canadians. This government has made significant investments in moving forward toward that. We recognize that the price of drugs in this country is too high. However, in moving forward we certainly have to take some steps to deal with the situation properly.
I have already listed a few examples of the things we have done, including working diligently with the provinces and territories. Moreover, there are other initiatives and investments that we have made. In budget 2017, we invested over $140 million over five years to really look at these issues. We have made significant investments in the Canada Health Infoway, a pan-Canadian organization that has done some very innovative work when it comes to pharmaceuticals. It is looking into a digital system to ensure that when doctors are prescribing drugs, the prescriptions will go specifically and directly to a pharmacy. As a result of that, we will have better data and services for our patients. It will also be more effective. We will have better data to analyze, and better decisions can be made moving forward.
I would also like to talk about other investments we have made. We have made significant investments in the Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement. I can speak personally with respect to my province of New Brunswick. A pilot project was undertaken to look at the overuse of antipsychotic drugs in long-term care facilities. From the work done on that, we could see if there was a proper use of medication. In looking at specific cases, we could see that people were being over-prescribed medications.
We are making different investments in different parts of the system, because we want to make sure that we are getting this right.