House of Commons Hansard #30 of the 43rd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was universal.

Topics

Canadian Coast GuardOral Questions

3:05 p.m.

South Shore—St. Margarets Nova Scotia

Liberal

Bernadette Jordan LiberalMinister of Fisheries

Mr. Speaker, last spring, we announced the single largest investment ever made to renew the Canadian Coast Guard fleet, including six new icebreakers.

I am thrilled to say that I was able to announce a $12-million contract to the Shelburne Ship Repair for crucial work to one of the workhorses of our fleet. This investment will support up to 55 jobs and extend the life of this vessel, which is critical to maintaining service in this country.

The women and men of the Canadian Coast Guard deserve the best that we can give them, and that is why we are making sure they have the tools that they need.

Employment InsuranceOral Questions

3:05 p.m.

NDP

Jack Harris NDP St. John's East, NL

Mr. Speaker, Newfoundland and Labrador is facing incredible financial struggles and we need the government to take real action, but it keeps failing. After the recent state of emergency in Newfoundland, New Democrats called on the government to help workers who lost up to a week's wages. The Liberals said they would help, but those workers are still waiting.

Now the government is telling Canadians it is here to help workers impacted by the coronavirus outbreak, who will lose wages that they will not be able to replace. Since the Liberals still have not delivered on the commitments they made for an eight-day state of emergency in my province, how can any Canadian believe they are going to come through this time?

Employment InsuranceOral Questions

3:05 p.m.

Delta B.C.

Liberal

Carla Qualtrough LiberalMinister of Employment

Mr. Speaker, I can assure everyone in this House that we are determined to support workers through the COVID-19 crisis. We have taken steps, as of yesterday, to waive the waiting period for sickness benefits. We are looking at means to help workers who do not qualify for EI. We will make sure that it is easier for workers to make strong public health choices to ensure that they do not have to work and that they can still pay their bills and support their families.

Veterans AffairsOral Questions

3:05 p.m.

Green

Jenica Atwin Green Fredericton, NB

Mr. Speaker, experts testified last month at the Veterans Affairs committee that treatments for family members of a former soldier were cut off or not approved and that there is a backlog of 18,330 cases.

The average wait time for applications is 32 weeks.

They also testified that there is a longer than average turnaround time for women and francophones.

The Minister of Veterans Affairs was tasked to ensure that the government lives up to its sacred obligation to our veterans and their families. I want to know when and how the government will start acting concretely on that commitment.

Veterans AffairsOral Questions

3:05 p.m.

Cardigan P.E.I.

Liberal

Lawrence MacAulay LiberalMinister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence

Mr. Speaker, I certainly agree with my hon. colleague that the backlog is totally unacceptable, but we have received an increase of 90% in first applications at Veterans Affairs and also the overall applications have doubled since 2015. We keep innovating our system by digitizing files and reducing paperwork. We continually, actually, say yes.

We have invested $10 billion in Veterans Affairs. We are going to make sure that veterans get the services they truly deserve.

Veterans AffairsOral Questions

3:10 p.m.

Liberal

Kody Blois Liberal Kings—Hants, NS

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Although I am a new member to this House, I understand that we have rules that we are intended to follow. We had very important discussions in this House over the last two weeks on the advance payments program, which is a loans program to support farmers, and I appreciate any member in this House bringing it forward.

The member for Foothills said, and I quote from Hansard, “We have asked for extensions on the advance payments program loans, to waive interest fees and to give agriculture some sort of assistance”—

Veterans AffairsOral Questions

3:10 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota

I am afraid we are getting into the territory of debate. I am going to have to cut the member off. I am sorry.

The hon. member for Saint-Jean.

Veterans AffairsOral Questions

3:10 p.m.

Bloc

Christine Normandin Bloc Saint-Jean, QC

Mr. Speaker, I seek the unanimous consent of the House to move the following motion: That it be resolved by the House to grant Raif Badawi honorary Canadian citizenship so that Canada may provide him the consular services he needs in Saudi Arabia.

Veterans AffairsOral Questions

3:10 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota

Does the hon. member have the unanimous consent of the House to move the motion?

Veterans AffairsOral Questions

3:10 p.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

No.

Consular AffairsOral Questions

3:10 p.m.

Conservative

Luc Berthold Conservative Mégantic—L'Érable, QC

moved:

That the House urge the government to offer consular services to Raif Badawi and work with the Government of Saudi Arabia to give him access to these consular services.

Mr. Speaker, Raif Badawi deserves to have the Government of Canada provide him consular services to help him get out of prison and return to his family in Sherbrooke. Parliament needs to clearly state its support. That is why I am seeking the unanimous consent of the House to move the motion.

Consular AffairsOral Questions

3:10 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota

Does the hon. member have the unanimous consent of the House to move the motion?

Consular AffairsOral Questions

3:10 p.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

Consular AffairsOral Questions

3:10 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota

The House has heard the terms of the motion. Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

Consular AffairsOral Questions

3:10 p.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

Consular AffairsOral Questions

3:10 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota

(Motion agreed to)

Business of the HouseOral Questions

3:10 p.m.

Conservative

John Nater Conservative Perth—Wellington, ON

Mr. Speaker, it being Thursday, I would like to ask the government house leader what business he intends to bring forward to this House for the remainder of this workweek and the Monday when we return.

Business of the HouseOral Questions

3:10 p.m.

Honoré-Mercier Québec

Liberal

Pablo Rodriguez LiberalLeader of the Government in the House of Commons

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for the question.

This afternoon we will continue debate on the NDP motion.

Tomorrow, we will resume debate on Bill C-4 on the free trade agreement with Mexico and the United States. We hope to conclude the debate that afternoon.

When hon. colleagues return from the constituency week, we will follow up with Bill C-7 on medical assistance in dying, Bill C-8 on conversion therapy and Bill C-3 on CBSA oversight.

Finally, I would like to inform the House that Monday, March 23, and Thursday, March 26, shall be allotted days.

The House resumed consideration of the motion.

Opposition Motion—PharmacareBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

3:10 p.m.

Liberal

Ruby Sahota Liberal Brampton North, ON

Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle.

I am honoured to take part in today's opposition motion debate on pharmacare. Ensuring that Canadians have timely access to therapeutic products, including prescription drugs and medical devices, is a clear priority for our government. A strong regulatory system capable of efficiently assessing and monitoring therapeutic products as they move from concept to market is necessary in order for Canadians to have timely access to the products that they need.

I would like to speak to colleagues about the progress being made in Canada to further improve our government's approach to the regulation of these important therapeutic products.

Health Canada has has been working towards a more agile regulatory system that better responds to health care system needs. This commitment to improve access to necessary prescription medications and medical devices was supported through funds allocated in budget 2017.

Health Canada has undertaken a number of initiatives to better serve the needs of Canadian patients in this area, including aligning regulatory processes with health care partners and international regulatory authorities, building capacity to be able to respond to changes in technology, using real-world data to bring more drugs and devices to Canadians and appropriately manage risks once products are on the market, modernizing the emergency provisions in the food and drug regulations to arrive at a less burdensome process for drugs accessed through the special access program and facilitating access to unauthorized drugs to address public and military health emergencies through an appropriate regulatory mechanism.

Health Canada is achieving this while maintaining its world-class and highly respected review of the safety, efficiency and quality of therapeutic products.

Within Canada, our government is working with health partners across the drug and medical device access spectrum to ensure earlier access to needed therapeutic products. We are reducing the time between initial approval and the reimbursement recommendation that is a key factor for a product to be made available. Portions of these reviews are now being completed in parallel, streamlining the multiple steps needed to get products to Canadians.

Health Canada is also facilitating access by expanding critical priority review pathways to ensure that the therapeutic products that are needed most by the health care system are reviewed more quickly.

Given the globalization of therapeutic product development, Canada cannot work in isolation. Health Canada has therefore committed to leveraging the knowledge gained from international counterparts, such as Australia, Europe and the United States, and is actively participating in international work sharing and collaborative drug reviews.

This international collaboration is strengthening relationships with foreign regulatory partners, improving alignment in regulatory processes and improving the efficiency and expediency of reviews. It is also maximizing the use of international scientific and regulatory expertise when reviewing drugs for safety, efficiency and quality. The change will also encourage the filing of submissions for approval of some products that would not otherwise be available in Canada.

Health Canada has also increased its capacity to review submissions for generic and biosimilar drugs so that these important and often more cost-effective therapeutic alternatives are made available to Canadians in a timely manner.

The special access program, or SAP, is an important mechanism for providing Canadians with access to drugs that are not yet marketed in Canada but are needed to treat serious or life-threatening diseases. Health Canada has published proposed regulatory changes to reduce the program's administrative burden and to make it more responsive to the needs of patients and physicians.

Regarding medical devices, Health Canada has developed a targeted review process for digital health technologies. It provides capacity to review these emerging innovative technologies in a more rapid manner. With this greater availability, these technologies will create potential cost savings in the health care system by shifting care from health care institutions to the home.

Finally, under the umbrella of access, Health Canada has finalized regulations supporting the public release of clinical data from therapeutic product submissions following a regulatory decision. Making this information available enables independent analysis by researchers and can offer new insights and perspectives that can benefit patient care.

Building on the work Health Canada is doing to support access to therapeutic products in Canada, the department has recently launched a new modernization plan focused on reducing barriers to innovation.

In response to the government's targeted reviews of the health and biosciences sector in 2018, Health Canada is advancing important work to make its regulations for therapeutic products more agile without compromising patient safety. This includes modernizing clinical trial regulations so that Canadians can access more treatment options through new and innovative clinical trial designs. Health Canada is also looking at its core market approval processes to make sure that they are flexible enough to accommodate continuous change in the sector.

Taken together, these initiatives play a key role in supporting greater access to innovative treatments needed by the health care system for all Canadians. The national pharmacare strategy will continue to build on the foundation set by Health Canada's regulatory modernization efforts.

Opposition Motion—PharmacareBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

March 12th, 2020 / 3:20 p.m.

Liberal

Anju Dhillon Liberal Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle, QC

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to participate in this important discussion, and I will take the opportunity presented by this speech to outline the steps that our government is taking to advance this issue.

The 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 ability to pay. For many people, however, paying for prescription drugs is a heavy burden, and for others, it is completely out of reach.

Today, more than seven million Canadians lack adequate drug coverage and many are unable to take their medications due to cost. Every year, almost one million Canadians also give up food and heat to afford medicines. These often tend to be lower-income, working-age Canadians.

No Canadian should have to choose between paying for prescription drugs and putting food on the table. However, we know many are still forced to make this impossible decision. That is why our government is taking action to address these challenges through targeted measures to lower drug prices and improve the affordability of prescription drugs.

To help us chart our course forward, in 2018, the government created the advisory council on the implementation of national pharmacare. Chaired by Dr. Eric Hoskins, the council’s mandate was to provide independent advice on how best to implement affordable national pharmacare for Canadians and their families, employers and governments.

After leading an extensive national dialogue, in its June 2019 final report the council recommended that the federal government work with provincial and territorial governments to establish a universal, single-payer, public system of prescription drug coverage in Canada. Given the scope of the transformation required to achieve national universal pharmacare, the council suggested that it would be practical to adopt a phased approach to implementation.

Guided by the council’s recommendations, budget 2019 outlined three foundational elements to help Canada move forward on implementing national pharmacare: establishing a Canadian drug agency, developing a national strategy for high-cost drugs for rare diseases, and working toward a national formulary.

A Canadian drug agency would take a coordinated approach to assessing the effectiveness of new prescription drugs and negotiating drug prices on behalf of Canada’s drug plans. The development of a national formulary—a comprehensive, evidence-based list of prescribed drugs—would promote more consistent coverage and patient access across the country. Both of these initiatives must be advanced in close collaboration with provinces and territories.

We recognize that for many Canadians who require prescription drugs to treat rare diseases, the cost of these medications can be astronomically high.

That is why budget 2019 proposed to invest up to $500 million per year, starting in 2022-23, to help Canadians with rare diseases access the drugs they need.

Working with provinces, territories and other partners will be key to developing a national strategy for high-cost drugs for rare diseases that includes gathering and evaluating evidence, improving decision-making consistency and access, negotiating prices and ensuring that effective treatments reach the patients who need them.

In addition, the Government of Canada modernized the way patented drug prices are regulated in Canada by amending the Patented Medicines Regulations. These amendments will better protect Canadians from excessive drug prices and are expected to save Canadians roughly $13 billion in drug spending over the next 10 years.

Our government is also working closely with the provinces and territories through the pan-Canadian pharmaceutical alliance, the pCPA. We are using our collective buying power to make drugs more affordable and lower generic drug prices for all payers. The pCPA has completed 345 negotiations with patented drug makers and has an additional 34 currently under way.

The alliance also concluded negotiation on a five-year agreement with the Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association that will provide significant savings for all Canadians who use prescription generic drugs. As of April 2019, the work of the pCPA has resulted in annual savings of more than $2 billion, through negotiated price reductions for both patented and generic drugs.

This work, as with the investments made in budget 2019, will help with the successful implementation of any national pharmacare program.

In conclusion, I appreciate this opportunity to discuss some of the important work we are doing on national pharmacare. I am pleased to say that we are moving forward steadily on this critical issue.

Each of the actions I have described today is helping to pave the way for an effective pharmacare program. We recognize the challenges that many Canadians face in accessing needed medications and are working to lay the groundwork for an effective and efficient pharmacare system. This includes bringing down prescription drug prices and improving the management of drugs in our health care system.

I think we can all agree that it is critical that the government work closely with the provinces and territories to determine how best to move forward. Provinces and territories will play a key role in the development of the drug agency, the strategy for high-cost drugs for rare diseases and pharmacare more generally.

It is necessary that we take the time to get this right. I am looking forward to discussions with my provincial and territorial counterparts this spring. Together, we will continue to make the affordability and accessibility of prescription drugs a shared priority for all Canadians.

Opposition Motion—PharmacareBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

3:30 p.m.

NDP

Don Davies NDP Vancouver Kingsway, BC

Mr. Speaker, as we have said in the House many times, we know that about seven and a half million Canadians do not have any pharmacare coverage through our medicare system. We also know that back in 1997, 23 years ago, the Liberals promised public pharmacare. The Hoskins advisory council reinforced this by, once again, showing that committing to a public pharmacare system would be the best way to deliver this essential health service.

I am wondering if the New Democrats can count on the member's positive vote in favour of this motion, so Canadians can have public pharmacare as soon as possible?

Opposition Motion—PharmacareBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

3:30 p.m.

Liberal

Anju Dhillon Liberal Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle, QC

Mr. Speaker, I will be supporting this motion from the NDP. It is a very important motion. My hon. colleague is right in saying that Canadians pay among the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs. Brand-name medicines cost about 20% more in Canada compared with other advanced economies.

It is high time we dealt with this issue. I am looking forward to listening to my other colleagues and hearing what they have to say.

Opposition Motion—PharmacareBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

3:30 p.m.

Bloc

Denis Trudel Bloc Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for her speech.

My colleague is a member from Quebec. We could discuss people's well-being and pharmacare. The problem is that this is not the right forum. Health is a provincial jurisdiction.

I would like to remind my colleague, who is from Quebec, that, on June 14, the National Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution indicating that Quebec is calling for full and unconditional financial compensation if a Canadian pharmacare plan is officially implemented. The National Assembly clearly stated that Quebec refuses to join a Canadian pharmacare plan.

They want to negotiate with the provinces, but how will they negotiate with Quebec, which has already said that it is not on board?

Opposition Motion—PharmacareBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

3:30 p.m.

Liberal

Anju Dhillon Liberal Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle, QC

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for paying close attention to my speech.

As I mentioned several times in my speech, it is extremely important for the provinces, territories and the federal government to collaborate and work together because it is for the well-being of all Canadians and thus all Quebeckers. This is about the health and safety of our fellow citizens. It is truly important that we work with the provinces and territories.

I also wanted to say that one of the recommendations of the Hoskins report was that we work together. That will make things more efficient while respecting jurisdictions.