Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to be here tonight to participate in this important discussion on drug prices in Canada. Our government is committed to strengthening the health care system across the country and supporting the health of Canadians. We know that Canadians are proud of our publicly funded and universal health care system. However, we recognize that almost a million Canadians give up food or heat to afford the prescription drugs they need, or do not take their prescribed drugs them due to the high prices.
This is why our government is taking action to make prescription medication more affordable and accessible. We realize that we can do even more.
In budget 2018 we announced the creation of an advisory council on the implementation of national pharmacare. The council, chaired by Dr. Eric Hoskins, will work closely with experts, as well as provincial, territorial and indigenous leaders.
In addition to assessing the options and exploring national and international models, the council will deliver, in spring 2019, independent advice to government on how to best implement affordable national pharmacare for Canadians and their families, employers and governments.
Over the course of the summer and into the fall, the council has been engaged with a broad range of stakeholders and Canadians. Through its consultations, the advisory council received over 150 written submissions and over 15,000 responses to its online questionnaire. The council also heard from many Canadians through its online discussion forums, public community dialogue sessions and regional stakeholder round tables.
The council will also carefully examine the reports from the Standing Committee on Health and the Parliamentary Budget Officer on national pharmacare. It will look at the best way to move forward on this important issue.
However, as we await the findings from the council, our government will continue to work to lower drug prices, provide more timely access to the new medicines Canadians need, and support appropriate prescribing. For example, our government is working closely with the provinces and territories through the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance to lower drug costs.
By capitalizing on the combined negotiating power of governments, the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance carried out more than 207 joint negotiations on brand name drugs.
They obtained price reductions on more than 70 generic drugs. In 2017, it was estimated that the efforts of the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance had led to nearly $1.3 billion in savings per year.
Health Canada is making changes to better align its drug review process with health partners and to expand its priority review process to more effectively meet the needs of the health care system. This will include establishing new regulatory pathways for drugs and working more closely with organizations that assess the cost-effectiveness of drugs.
All the measures I have outlined today are significant. However, our government recognizes that there is an opportunity to do even more. We look forward to the recommendations by the advisory council on the implementation of national pharmacare on how to move forward on this important topic.