Health

This summary is based on the provided transcript of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health (HESA) meeting 16, held on December 4, 2025. The committee was studying antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Appearing as witnesses were Dr. Judith Fafard, a medical doctor and microbiologist; Dr. Sameeh Salama, Chair of the Canadian Antimicrobial Innovation Coalition; and Jennifer Buckley, Senior Director at Innovative Medicines Canada.

Dr. Judith Fafard, a medical director at the Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ), testified that antimicrobial resistance complicates care and increases mortality, using the example of *Neisseria gonorrhoeae* in Quebec where resistance to azithromycin peaked at 44.3% in 2022 before declining after treatment guidelines were changed. She noted that surveillance data remains fragmented across provinces and that some pathogens, like *Mycoplasma genitalium*, are not monitored at all. She recommended exploring barriers to better surveillance coverage, encouraging research on the economic and health impacts of resistant pathogens, and improving data dissemination, including through wastewater metagenomics to reach vulnerable populations.

Dr. Sameeh Salama, representing the Canadian Antimicrobial Innovation Coalition and Fedora Pharmaceuticals, stated that 26% of infections in Canada were resistant to first-line antibiotics in 2018, a figure projected to rise to 40% by 2050. He argued that the Pan-Canadian Action Plan on AMR has not been implemented or funded and that innovation must be embedded across all pillars of the strategy. He recommended both "push" incentives (e.g., expanded early R&D funding) and "pull" incentives (e.g., a subscription model like the UK's), noting that Canada has secured access to only three of 18 new antibiotics launched globally and that over 90% of antibiotics are manufactured abroad, creating a national security risk.

Jennifer Buckley, from Innovative Medicines Canada, described AMR as a present crisis, noting that between 2010 and 2021, Canada secured access to only three of 18 new antibiotics launched globally. She stated that the main barrier is not Health Canada's approval process but the post-approval system, which takes an average of two and a half years from approval to public formulary listing. She welcomed the federal pull incentive pilot under development and urged the adoption of refinements proposed by the Canadian Antimicrobial Innovation Coalition, while also calling for faster regulatory and reimbursement processes to ensure timely patient access.

During questioning, Dr. Fafard noted that resistant microbes are often imported through travel rather than migration, and that there is little research on prescribing patterns for antimicrobials in Canada. Dr. Salama emphasized that without pull incentives, hospital budgets face pressure when antibiotics not on formulary are needed. Ms. Buckley explained that the lengthy post-approval process involves multiple steps—Health Canada, the Canadian Drug Agency, and provincial negotiations—which can cause delays of up to six months between steps, discouraging companies from seeking approval in Canada. She agreed that the AMR action plan should include a review of this process.

The meeting concluded with procedural debate regarding the scheduling of the Minister of Health to appear on supplementary estimates (B), with Conservative members pressing for the minister's attendance before the December 10 deadline, while the clerk noted that invitations had been sent but no confirmation had been received. The committee also discussed the need to re-invite a witness who had technical issues, and it was confirmed that Dr. Karl Weiss would appear at a future meeting.