Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his commitment to defending and supporting his constituents and for raising this question in the House this evening.
I am pleased to be here today to participate in this important discussion on implementing national pharmacare.
Our government is committed to strengthening health care systems across the country and supporting the health of Canadians. We know Canadians are proud of their publicly funded health care system, which is based on need and not the ability to pay. We also recognize that almost a million Canadians give up food or heat to afford the prescription drugs they need. In other cases, they do not take prescribed drugs due to high prices.
That is why our government is taking steps to make prescription drugs more affordable and accessible, but we know that we can still do more.
In budget 2018 we announced the creation of the advisory council on the implementation of national pharmacare. This council, chaired by Dr. Eric Hoskins, will work closely with experts and 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.
On March 6, 2019, the council delivered an interim report which provided an overview of what it had learned in the past eight months. The report also identified three initial recommendations for the implementation of national pharmacare. First is creating a national drug agency that would oversee national pharmacare. The proposed agency could bring together key functions of health technology assessments of prescription drugs to evaluate their effectiveness and value for money and negotiations. Second is developing a national formulary that would harmonize drug coverage across Canada. This evidence-based list of prescribed drugs would be accessible to all Canadians. Finally, the council recommended that the government invest in a robust and coordinated information technology system that would be the technological foundation for national pharmacare.
Guided by the council's initial recommendations outlined above, our government announced key investments as part of budget 2019 toward the implementation of national pharmacare, including the creation of a new Canadian drug agency, the development of a national formulary for prescription drugs and a national strategy for high-cost drugs for rare diseases.
Our government awaits the council's final report. In the meantime, we will continue moving forward with other important initiatives to make medication more affordable for all Canadians.
Our government is modernizing the way that the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board works, through amendments to the patented medicines regulations. These changes will better protect Canadian consumers, governments and private insurers from excessive drug prices.
Our government remains committed to modernizing the way that patented drug prices are regulated. The feedback from—