Madam Chair, it was interesting to hear the federal health minister speak tonight because it was indeed, as my colleague mentioned, the Conservatives who moved forward on banning bulk exports. My colleague from Yellowhead brought forward a motion in the health committee that passed and was brought to the House. Therefore it actually was the Conservatives who moved on bulk exports.
Bulk exports should not be confused with the legal export of one on one retail prescriptions. The importance is critical because, obviously, we need to protect Canada's drug supply, which is why, if it can be demonstrated that price, supply or the safety of Canadian drugs are compromised, the Conservative Party will support taking action. In fact, the online pharmacy industry is aware of this and that is why it also supports a ban on bulk exports. Nobody is pushing for bulk exports and, in fact, it would be impossible to do.
Having said that, we see a health minister creating a crisis where there is no crisis. In fact, the industry has declined in the last 12 months. The minister needs to understand that this industry was created and developed under the Liberals but it is the Liberals who are trying to do it.
I will also note that the political minister from Manitoba has agreed with the position that there is a compromised solution to be found, and that is to ban bulk exports while protecting Canadian prices, supply and safety.
I also find it interesting that the minister fails to recognize that the health committee is chaired by a Liberal member and if this were such a priority for the government, there would have been unanimous consent, I am sure, at the health committee to bring forward a study to review this issue. However the minister and the government decided not to and left it up to the Conservative Party to actually take action and ban bulk exports through a concurrence motion, which the Liberals voted for. They supported the Conservative initiative to ban bulk exports, which is not to be confused with one on one retail.
The minister has claimed that the U.S. Congress could act at any time to allow the import of pharmaceuticals. The fact is that those bills are not imminent. There is surely time to review the impact that may occur by the minister's actions.
The other interesting point is that the minister has made some claims that somehow it would be unethical to prescribe medication when the doctor is not present. In fact, this practice happens throughout Canada. Our first nation communities and other remote communities often have nurse practitioners prescribe drugs for their patients. That very fact alone undermines the minister's comment that there must be a direct patient-doctor relationship because today that does not occur in many cases. It is my understanding, from what was presented to me as recently as last week by nurse practitioners, that they do have the ability in many provinces to prescribe pharmaceuticals independent of a practising doctor.
The fact that the political minister of Manitoba had stated that there should be a compromise and the fact that the minister is not open to compromise is very disturbing. The fact that the minister is not willing to allow the health committee to do its work as per the concurrence motion is very disturbing.
The minister and the consultation process at Health Canada has been criticized quite broadly due to the lack of time and ability of presenters to fully present their cases on either side of the issue. Even Health Canada has said that supply has not been affected by the online pharmacy industry and that there has been no evidence to support that claim.
The fact that the Conservatives were the ones who brought in the PMPRB demonstrates a commitment on behalf of the Conservatives to ensure that Canadians have affordable, high quality medications and that quantities are sustainable.
The interesting aspect to this debate is the price difference between some drugs in Canada and some drugs in the United States. However there is even a greater difference between drugs in other countries and the United States. The fact is that the industry, by and large, is moving offshore. I fear there will be unintended consequences.
The federal government may not have the jurisdiction to interfere with provincial regulatory bodies when it comes to issues of doctor-patient relations and I think the federal government needs to be very careful before it treads on areas of provincial jurisdiction.
The federal government should also be very careful in not allowing proper consultation by Canadians. I think the federal government is showing a great deal of disrespect toward the health committee. A motion was passed in the health committee last year to study this issue. The minister does correctly point out that the health committee has started but not completed that study.
I would also like to point out that the chair of that committee is a Liberal member. If this were such a high priority for the government, the government could have easily brought forward an agenda that would have accommodated a timely and steadfast study of the implications of online pharmacies, but it chose not to.
The government is playing to Canada's rhetoric rather than actually dealing with the issue.
