Conservatives failing to ensure drug safety

The NDP is demanding that the Minister of Health explain serious oversights in drug safety, including why drug manufacturers that repeatedly failed to meet safety standards are allowed to distribute their products in Canada.

“Medicine is a matter of life and death for thousands of Canadians and they expect that Health Canada will ensure that these drugs are safe,” said NDP Health critic Libby Davies (Vancouver East). “It is alarming that we had to rely on U.S. officials to identify safety problems, and that these issues were kept from the Canadian public.”

A Toronto Star investigation found that over the past six years more than 40 Canadian drug companies have been cited for serious product safety violations. New Democrats have long called attention to Health Canada’s lack of safety enforcement and transparency.

Just two months ago, Conservatives dismissed concrete suggestions to improve their own weak drug safety legislation and ensure full safety information reached the Canadian public. Unlike its U.S. counterpart, the Food and Drug Administration, Health Canada refuses to share full drug safety information with the public.

“The Minister must answer for her department’s failure to protect Canadians’ health. This is troubling evidence of repeat violations, lax enforcement, and a culture of negligence around drug safety,” added NDP Leader Tom Mulcair.