December 06, 2013
Ottawa, ON
Good morning,
I'm pleased to be here today to make an important announcement that will make a difference in the health and safety of all Canadians.
I just finished meeting with parents and stakeholders who know firsthand the importance of having confidence in the medicines and medical devices we rely on - we need to know that the pill we are taking to make us better, doesn't cause us more harm.
My colleague Terence Young is with us here today and like the parents and stakeholders I just met, Terence reminds us that there are families and real stories that define why patient safety is important. He reminds us that we all have a role to play and we must work hard every day to protect our children from taking unsafe medications.
Terence lost his daughter Vanessa who tragically died of a heart attack while on a prescription drug that later was deemed not safe and removed from the market. This led Terence to become a tireless advocate for patient safety.
Today marks an important milestone for parents like Terence, Bruce Mckenzie and Ceaser Borges and for patient advocates.
Today, our Government is acting on our Speech from the Throne commitment to improve patient safety.
Today, we ensure to never to forget people like Vanessa, Marit and Alison.
Today we make a change.
A few moments ago, our Government introduced, the Protecting Canadians from Unsafe Drugs Act (Vanessa's Law).
This important Legislation makes targeted, efficient, and effective improvements to protect Canadian patients.
The new law will ensure that no medicine that is unsafe is left on a store shelf.
It gives the Government the power to require mandatory adverse reaction reporting and enable mandatory label changes, when problems are identified.
The law will compel drug companies to do further testing on a product, including when issues are identified with certain at-risk populations such as children.
The law will give us, the federal government, powers to issue recalls of unsafe drugs the same way we are able to recall food or consumer products that pose a risk to the health and safety of Canadians.
We will also be able to impose tougher penalties, including jail time, on companies that produce unsafe drugs in Canada. Previously the fine was $5,000, it will now change to up to $5 million per day.
The law will also provide the courts with discretion to impose even stronger fines than the $5 million if violations were caused intentionally.
Before introducing Vanessa's Law, we consulted widely with patients, healthcare providers and industry.
During conversations with patients and consultations with healthcare professionals, we have seen an overwhelming consensus that stronger drug and medical device safety tools are absolutely necessary.
It is time to take action through mandatory adverse reaction reporting, timely recalls, as well as increased fines and penalties which would better reflect the needs of Canadians.
We know that adverse reactions to medications are estimated to account for up to a quarter of emergency room visits and hospital admissions and the cases we hear about represent only a fraction of the real impact.
This new legislation will improve our Food and Drugs Act but we're also taking action on patient safety in a number of other ways:
- Drug labels are becoming easier to read and understand, through our Plain Language Labeling initiative;
- We continue to support the safety of our blood supply through new blood regulations;
- And we are improving front-line healthcare safety by reinvesting in the work of the Canadian Patient Safety Institute, with funding of over $38.1 million.
This new Legislation, is the logical next step in our dedication to improving the lives of Canadians.
As Minister of Health, nothing is more important to me than the safety of Canadians and their families, and I am confident that we will all benefit greatly from these improvements.
Thank you to Terence, Bruce and Ceaser, and all are health partners for joining us here today.
Merci.
