Sadia Groguhé

[Petitions, February 7th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present two petitions.

The first is from people in my riding representing the agency Development and Peace. They are calling for legislation to create an ombudsman position to ensure that mining projects are conducted responsibly. Of course, they are concerned about the actions and behaviour of Canadian mining companies abroad.

[Democratic Reform, February 7th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the minister is not very convincing.

The reality is that the exemption clause favours the Conservative Party. The former chief electoral officer is against this measure. He maintains that this is a roundabout way of raising the limit on election spending. Obviously, this measure was introduced after a number of Conservative members and ministers were found guilty of exceeding the spending limit.

Does the Conservative government realize that this measure is leaving the door wide open to abuse?

[Democratic Reform, February 7th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the new bill allows local election campaign organizations to collect money from donors who have contributed at least $20 in the past without that counting as an election expense. However, this clause is impossible to apply because Elections Canada does not keep a list of donors who have contributed between $20 and $200.

What makes the Conservatives think that they will be able to enforce this clause of the bill?

[Mandatory Disclosure of Drug Shortages Act, February 6th, 2014]

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am pleased to speak to this issue and defend the proposal put forward by the member for Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert in Bill C-523, which addresses preventive disclosure of drug shortages by pharmaceutical companies.

This is an important public health issue that affects Canadians from all regions and all walks of life. This is also an opportunity to assert that the health of Canadians is not a free commodity and that public interest takes precedence over free enterprise in the drug industry.

We need to legislate this because, true to form, the Conservative government is watching the problem worsen, is saying it is acting in the interests of Canadians and is making a lot of noise. It gets riled up and then nothing happens. However, the statistics on drug shortages in Canada are stunning.

The working group on drug shortages found that the number of registered drug shortages rose from 92 in 2005 to 310 in 2010. That is an increase of over 300%. It is equivalent to six registered drug shortages per week.

In 2011, 250 drugs were on back order, representing a 40% increase over the previous year. It is clear that supply disruptions are on the rise and that more drugs are being affected.

Here is an analogy. This kind of problem in another industry would have no real impact on the lives of Canadians. If a person wants to buy a new car, but the dealer cannot deliver it on time, that person just goes and buys another make of car. That does not work for the drug industry.

According to the report of the working group on drug shortages that I quoted, drugs that are subject to shortages are essential, which means that they are used to treat or prevent serious health conditions and there are no substitutes. In other words, unlike dissatisfied customers, sick people cannot simply find substitutes for the drugs they need. That happens often, too often.

From January 2010 to August 2011, 93% of the 127 unforeseen shortages involved essential drugs and 41% were both essential and produced by a single manufacturer. This kind of breakdown in the supply chain has a significant impact on the health of all Canadians.

In 2012, the injection drug shortage caused at least 65 surgeries to be delayed. Doctors surveyed by the Canadian Medical Association, the Canadian Pharmacists Association and the hospital pharmacists association confirmed that drug shortages affected their patients' health.

It is important to understand that illnesses do not wait for the drugs that treat them to become available. When there is a shortage, illnesses continue to flourish, worsen and spread. No one is immune: rich or poor, young or old, Canadian or not. Illnesses spread if they are not treated, and that is that.

These interruptions in the supply chain also have an economic impact, first of all, because they drive up the cost of the health care system. A delay in treatment or surgical intervention causes the patient's condition to deteriorate. The longer we wait to treat that person, the harder and more costly it is. Some 91% of hospital physicians agree. These delays also cause an increase in the workload of health care providers.

All of these disruptions wind up being more costly for our health care system, and therefore our economy. Let us not forget that healthy employees are essential to keeping our businesses running smoothly.

A 2011 labour force survey conducted by Statistics Canada ranks health problems as the number one cause of absenteeism at work, apart from vacation. In 2011, every full-time employee lost on average eight working days because of sickness. That is a total of 105 million work days lost annually.

Canada is experiencing a labour shortage in certain sectors, which is threatening our competitiveness and our growth. Our businesses even have to call upon temporary foreign workers at times in order to meet their labour needs. Thus, it is important to tackle this public health problem immediately in order to improve the health of our workers and reduce absenteeism.

Has the government taken any sensible action to address the shortcomings in the drug supply chain? Absolutely not. It is hiding behind its usual ideology: the free market. Let it go; leave it alone; the market will take care of itself.

With that approach, it is putting the health of Canadians in the hands of pharmaceutical industries. It is forgetting that it alone has the possibility of anticipating the needs, and knowing the state of the supply and the capacity of the pharmaceutical industries to meet demand. The government refuses to ask them whether they will have the capacity to meet demand in the short, medium and long terms so that it can adjust. It prefers to rely on the goodwill of the industry. The Conservatives keep extolling the virtues of business, but here, they are not acting as good managers.

The NDP is a responsible party that understands the realities and challenges of public health. That is why we have developed a constructive approach. It is based on the need to inform and to anticipate the need for drugs in the country.

It is simple. We must introduce a mandatory reporting system that requires pharmaceutical companies to inform Health Canada of any potential shortage, as the College of Family Physicians of Canada is calling for.

The NDP wants to ensure that the health care professionals have access to the necessary information to take care of their patients and to make their work more efficient. For that, we must oblige the pharmaceutical industries to report any drug shortages. We must not rely on their goodwill.

Other developed countries do it and it works very well. In the United States, for example, Barack Obama's administration issued an executive order last October requiring all manufacturers to report shortages to the Food and Drug Administration.

It is time for the federal government to do its job and look after public health. Canadians' health is more important than the profits of the pharmaceutical industry. We must take appropriate action to guarantee that everyone has access to health care and medication. That is why I support the bill before us today.

[Points of Order, February 6th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, what I have to say is in response to what the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons said. I would simply like to point out that our parliamentary leader is not available at this time. However, after reading the government's response, he will be pleased to reply. He will do so tomorrow.

[Intergovernmental Affairs, February 5th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives' approach has been counterproductive from the start.

They decided to confront the provinces instead of consult them. That led to delays, and workers are paying the price. I hope they will learn from their mistakes. Worker training is important for economic growth and development.

Will the minister accept the provinces' counter-offer?

[Intergovernmental Relations, February 4th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, in their last budget, the Conservatives chose to eliminate $300 million in funding for job training, which hurt the most vulnerable workers, in order to create the new Canada job grant program.

The Conservatives spent $2.5 million in advertising for this program, which does not even exist. This has left provinces and employers holding the bag.

Will the minister finally accept the provinces' counter-offer?

[Business of Supply, February 3rd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the NDP requests that the division be deferred until tomorrow, Tuesday, February 4, 2014, at the expiry of the time provided for government orders.

[Business of Supply, January 30th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for her comment.

Once again, she focused on how important it is to have personalized care. People in distress should not have to deal with a machine. That is unthinkable. I would also like to point out that this government has done nothing but talk, when what we really need is action.

I would like to point out that, since coming to power, the Conservatives have cut over $225 million from the Veterans Affairs budget, thereby eliminating one-quarter of the department's employees and services. How are we supposed to take care of our veterans when the government has made such inexcusable cuts?

[Business of Supply, January 30th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for his question.

It is clear with this file—now more than ever—and with other files as well, that the government is yet again choosing to ignore a Canada-wide wave of protest. Men and women are standing up in communities across this country to tell the government to reverse its decision, yet it continues to move forward with a decision that will deprive men and women of an important service that is crucial to helping them get back on their feet, giving them hope, and enabling these families to move on after the war in Afghanistan, or any other war they fought in. We know it is true and we keep repeating it.

That lack of gratitude cannot go unmentioned. I cannot find the words to express it, but I am completely revolted and outraged by this indescribable attitude.