Contact

Constituency Office
1082 Main Street
Winnipeg, MB R2W 5J3
Telephone: 204-984-1767
Fax: 204-984-1766

Parliament Hill Office
710 Justice Building
House of Commons
Ottawa ON K1A 0A6
Telephone: 613-996-6417
Fax: 613-996-9713

wasylj@parl.gc.ca

NDP BILL TO SEND GENERIC DRUGS OVERSEAS PASSES VOTE

Thu 3 Dec 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DECEMBER 3, 2009

NDP BILL TO SEND GENERIC DRUGS OVERSEAS PASSES VOTE

OTTAWA – New Democrat Health Critic Judy Wasylycia-Leis (Winnipeg-North) joined health, humanitarian and patient activists in celebrating second-reading passage of her Private Members’ Bill, C-393, designed to unblock the flow of cheaper, generic drugs to developing countries. The 143 to 127 vote keeps the bill alive and sends it to a Commons Committee for more detailed study.

“We’re one step closer to fixing a relatively minor bureaucratic problem that’s costing people their lives around the world,” said Wasylycia-Leis. “We owe a great debt to all those who have pushed for years to get to this point. Their determination has overcome misleading campaigns and unfounded mistrust. This is a vote for people – a vote for giving a future back to millions.”

Bill C-393 is designed to streamline Canada’s Access to Medicines Regime (CAMR), passed unanimously by Parliament in 2004 after the World Trade Organization loosened its patent restrictions. It set up a licensing system to allow generic companies to produce and ship patented drugs to specific low-income countries. But it has been found to be overly restrictive, with a cumbersome application process that has discouraged generic companies from even applying for licences.

“Five years ago, when we changed the Patent Act, we thought we were opening the floodgates to get cheaper generic drugs to the developing countries where they’re desperately needed,” said Wasylycia-Leis. “Instead, we’ve seen only a trickle – one licence application in all that time. This vote restores Canadians faith that we collectively still want to find answers that will get life-saving drugs where they’re needed most.”

Every day, 14,000 lives are lost to treatable infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. The vast majority of the victims are in countries unable to afford newer, high-priced patented medicines.

Wasylycia-Leis’ bill has received support from international health advocacy organizations such as the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, ResultsCanada and the Stephen Lewis Foundation’s Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign.

Petition to the House of Commons in Support of Bill C-393 (PDF)
Mailback Card in Support of Bill C-393 (PDF)