Money wins out on drug reform
Item 1: Just last month, Jane Philpott, the health minister, made clear the government believes there is a “moral imperative” to combat substance abuse.
Given Canada’s unofficial status as the world’s largest user of opioids, with an estimated 410,000 people abusing prescription drugs, it is inexplicable why her department has decided not to act on regulations proposed last year to make controlled release oxycodone drugs tamper-resistant.
When Rona Ambrose was health minister, she proposed to reverse the decision taken by her predecessor to allow generic drugmakers to produce their own version of the powerful painkiller OxyContin. This would have brought Canada in line with Food and Drug Administration rules in the U. S., where overdoses dropped significantly.
Further, it would have pleased U. S. lawmakers, who have lobbied t he Canadian government about the amount of non- abuse deterrent formulations of painkillers seeping across the border.
Purdue Pharma’s OxyNEO, which replaced OxyContin, is already tamper- proof, turning to mush when crushed. The plan was to make other manufacturers follow suit. However, the Conservatives chickened out at the l ast minute, and when regulations emerged last summer, they amounted to yet more consultations with industry.
On Monday, the Liberal government abandoned the approach entirely.
“Following the consultation, and a review of the latest scientific evidence, the department has concluded that this specific regulatory approach, requiring tamper resistance, would not have the intended health and safety impact,” Health Canada said. “Specifically, requiring tamper- resistant properties on all legitimate preparations of controlled release oxycodone would have served to eliminate certain lower- cost drugs from the market, increasing costs for patients and the health system, while having little to no effect in the fight against problematic opiod use.”
So there you have it: the imperative is more pecuniary than moral.
The prescription- drug- abuse carnage will continue to ensure we have continued access to cheap painkillers. Item 2: In an interview on CTV Question Period at the weekend, Bardish Chagger, the small business minister, said the tax cuts promised to businesses earning less than $ 500,000 a year were not off the table.
The party had pledged to cut the rate to nine per cent from the current 10.5 per cent, but that promise was not honoured in last month’s budget.
“We’re on Year 1 of a fouryear mandate,” Chagger said, leaving the impression the cut may come in later years.
But buried deep in the technical document that accompanied the budget it is explicitly stated the rate will remain at 10.5 per cent after 2016.
I will eat my Panamanian guide on tax evasion if the Liberals follow through on that commitment, which costs $ 300 million for each half- point tax cut.
It’s fair to say they only made t he commitment to reduce rates to nine per cent because the other two parties said they would. Justin Trudeau illustrated his skepticism for the policy when he said, “A large percentage of small businesses are just ways for wealthier Canadians to save on their taxes.”
There are reasonable grounds for that position. Numerous studies have found the wealthiest Canadians disproportionately take advantage of the preferential small- business tax rate.
Jack Mintz of the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy has concluded that reducing that rate actively discourages businesses from growing.
But if Trudeau bought into either argument, why commit to reducing the rate in the first place? What, campaign politics? Surely some mistake?
As one of Bill Clinton’s spokesmen once said in similar circumstances: “The president has kept all the promises he intended to keep.” Item 3: The Liberals have missed the April 1 deadline to conclude an updated Agreement on Internal Trade with the provinces and territories, but Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bains says the sides are close. “There is light at the end of the tunnel,” he said, suggesting that after 17 rounds, a deal to harmonize regulations between jurisdictions will be agreed by summer.
The Conservatives suggest internal trade is not a high priority for the government. “It wasn’t in the throne speech, it wasn’t in the minister’s mandate letter and there was only one line in the budget,” said trade critic Dan Albas. “They are being less than proactive in allowing Canadians to have the same kind of market access we’ve given to Seoul, Brussels and perhaps Tokyo, if the TPP gets done.”
But talking of “getting it done,” the Tories didn’t. If Bains manages to wrap up a deal, it will be a genuine, long- overdue achievement for the new government.
While interviewing Bains on internal trade, I asked for a progress report on Bombardier Inc.’s $ 1- billion funding request, in light of comments by senior executive Rob Dewar that the cash injection would be helpful but is not necessary.
“I haven’t heard that from the CEO, Alain (Bellemare), so I think what we’re doing is making sure we continue our due diligence and continue with the process started in December. We want to make sure we do that in a thoughtful and responsible way and make sure any decision we make is in the public’s best interest,” Bains said.
My impression is the only decision left to make is whether the feds will pay up by debit or credit.
THERE IS A LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL.
THE DRUG-ABUSE CARNAGE WILL ENSURE WE HAVE CONTINUED ACCESS TO CHEAP PAINKILLERS. — JOHN IVISON