Question Period Notes
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In accordance with the Access to Information Act, the government proactively publishes the package of question period notes that were prepared by a government institution for the minister and that were in use on the last sitting day in June and December.
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On July 31, 2019, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that the HHS and the Food and Drug Administration would propose a rule to allow for the bulk importation of Canadian drugs through pilot projects by public and private pharmacies and wholesalers. The Food and Drug Administration is expected to publish a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in January. Final regulations can be expected by spring 2020.
• What is the Government doing to ensure that the possible bulk importation of drugs by the U.S. does not disrupt the supply of drugs to Canadians?
A new Food Guide, including new healthy eating recommendations and supporting resources for Canadians, was launched on January 22, 2019.
• Was the best available evidence considered in the development of the new Food Guide
The issue of forced and coerced sterilization of Indigenous women in Canada has received significant national and international media attention since Fall 2015.
There are currently six litigation cases alleging the sterilization, without proper or informed consent, of Indigenous women between 1948 and the present. The Government of Canada is a defendant in four of these actions, with Health Canada specifically named in two.
On December 7, 2018, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights’ Committee Against Torture officially recognized that sterilizing Indigenous women without consent is a form of torture, and called on Canada to “ensure that all allegations of forced or coerced sterilization are impartially investigated, that the persons responsible are held accountable and that adequate redress is provided to the victims.” Canada has accepted the recommendations of the Committee and the Public Health Agency of Canada is coordinating the response, on behalf of Canada and the provinces and territories, for December 2019.
During the last Parliament, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health and the Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights convened panels of experts who spoke on the forced sterilization of women in Canada. On August 2, 2019, prior to the dissolution of Parliament, the Chair of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health wrote a letter to the Ministers of Health, Indigenous Services and Public Safety outlining the committee’s recommendations to address the issue of forced or coerced sterilization of Indigenous women.
• What is the Government doing to address this issue?
During the 2019 election campaign, the NDP committed to providing free dental care for households making under $70,000 starting in 2020.
• Will the Government support the NDP’s plan for dental care for low income Canadians?
Recent media articles have reported that drug shortages in Canada are worsening, highlighting current shortages of cancer drugs, and concerns voiced by healthcare professionals and patients unable to access supply.
What action is Health Canada taking to address drug shortages?
The media and stakeholders have raised concerns regarding caffeinated energy drinks (CEDs). In October 2019, the Radio-Canada weekly TV series Enquête aired a program focusing on the risks associated with the consumption of these products, particularly among children, teens, and individuals with pre-existing cardiac health conditions. A segment of the program discussed the deaths of 15-year old Brian Shepherd (2008) and 21-year old Zachary Mitchell (2016). Shortly after the program aired, the Quebec Minister of Health announced that the province is considering banning the sale of CEDs to individuals under the age of 16 years old.
• What is the Government of Canada doing to protect children and teens from the risks associated with caffeinated energy drinks?
A shortage of EpiPen (0.3 mg) auto-injectors is currently being reported in Canada with an unknown end date. EpiPen Jr (0.15mg) is not impacted by this shortage. EpiPen is used to deliver an emergency treatment of adrenaline (epinephrine) to patients who are at risk or have a history of serious life-threatening allergic reactions (anaphylaxis). While Health Canada has authorized other epinephrine auto-injector products, they are not currently being marketed in Canada.
What is Health Canada doing about the shortage of this critical drug?
Rare diseases are life-threatening, seriously debilitating and sometimes chronic in nature. There are generally few or no treatment options, which means any available treatment is in high demand and can command significant prices (e.g., $100K to upwards of $2M per patient per year). These high prices combined with the increasing prevalence and severity of rare diseases, pose significant challenges to patients, caregivers, and the health care system, including the sustainability of public and private drug plans that pay for these drugs
• What is the Government doing to improve access to drugs for rare diseases and address the high cost of these drugs for Canadians living with rare diseases?
On April 28, 2017, Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) published its final re-evaluation decision document for pesticides containing glyphosate, allowing its continued use in Canada (marketed under brand names such as Roundup and Vision). Glyphosate is the most widely used pesticide globally.
Subsequently, eight Notices of Objection (NoO) were filed by stakeholders requesting reconsideration of the glyphosate decision. Following a review of stakeholders’ concerns, the Department confirmed on January 11, 2019, that issues raised in these NoOs were not scientifically supported. Therefore, the Department’s final re-evaluation decision for glyphosate stands.
Media and stakeholder interest remains high, following three court decisions in the United States which awarded large settlements to individuals who claimed their cancer was caused by glyphosate. In Canada, a number of class action lawsuits have been proposed linking non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and exposure to glyphosate. The lawsuits have yet to be certified as class actions.
Some of the information referenced during the US trials and proposed legal action in Canada (known as the “Monsanto Papers”) raised concerns around the independence of some science reviews with respect to glyphosate. These concerns were addressed by Health Canada through the Notice of Objection (NoO) process, which included a thorough review of information.
• Given the allegations about Monsanto, and the proposed class action lawsuits in Canada, why is glyphosate still approved for use?
Exposure to lead can lead to effects on neurological development and behaviour in children.
Lead in drinking water has received media attention across Canada. Multiple media outlets have reported “hundreds of thousands of Canadians could be consuming tap water laced with high levels of lead leaching from aging infrastructure and plumbing”. The findings are the result of a year-long investigation by more than 120 journalists from nine universities and 10 media organizations.
Two Canadian scientists, from Simon Fraser University and Université de Montréal, have also written an opinion piece calling for Canada to develop a single health-based national water quality standard to protect Canadians against the harmful effects of lead in drinking water.
In March 2019, Health Canada published the updated Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality for Lead, which lowered the maximum acceptable concentration from 0.01 mg/L to 0.005 mg/L.
• What is Health Canada doing to protect the health of Canadians from the effects of lead in drinking water?