Health

This House of Commons Standing Committee on Health meeting, convened on May 7, 2026, resumed its study of Canada's pharmaceutical sovereignty. Witnesses appearing were Kim Steele, Chair of the Best Medicines Coalition; Sonia Parmar, Vice-President of Government Relations and Regulatory Affairs for the Canadian Health Food Association; and Stéphane Lévesque, General Manager of the Groupement provincial de l'industrie du médicament.

Kim Steele, speaking on behalf of patient groups, argued that pharmaceutical sovereignty must include timely and equitable access to innovative medicines, not just manufacturing and supply chains. She cited the delayed Canadian launch of the cystic fibrosis therapy Trikafta as an example of how policy uncertainty harms patients, and she recommended that Canada adopt incentives similar to the U.S. Orphan Drug Act, such as transferable priority review vouchers, to attract innovation and close access gaps.

Sonia Parmar stated that natural health products (NHPs) are widely used by Canadians and play a role in preventative care, estimating billions in potential health system cost savings. She warned that a commercial-scale loophole allowing foreign products to bypass Canadian regulations undermines domestic manufacturers and represents roughly $450 million in annual market activity outside regulatory oversight, and she called on Health Canada and border agencies to close that gap and ensure the NHP regulatory framework remains fit for purpose.

Stéphane Lévesque emphasized that pharmaceutical sovereignty will never be absolute and requires better federal-provincial collaboration. He argued that Canadian-owned generic drug companies need targeted support, that Health Canada’s review delays are worsening and penalize domestic firms, and that provincial lowest-price reimbursement policies drive manufacturing offshore. He recommended a "buy Canadian" policy for hospital procurement and strategic stockpiles, support for domestic active pharmaceutical ingredient manufacturing, and strategic alliances with trusted countries.

The committee’s work was then overtaken by procedural debate. A Liberal member moved to begin a study on artificial intelligence in health care, but opposition members insisted that the committee first address the failed PrescribeIT program, including summoning former Canada Health Infoway CEO Michael Green and the Minister of Health. Multiple motions, amendments, and subamendments were introduced and debated, and several were ruled out of order by the chair. The meeting was suspended and reconvened multiple times over several weeks, with the committee unable to return to witness testimony or conclude the debate on the HIV study motion.