Candidates call for cheaper drug costs at debate (2015 Federal election St. Catharines riding)

Candidates call for cheaper drug costs at debate

• The Standard (St. Catharines)
• 9 Oct 2015
• KARENA WALTER Standard Staff karena.walter@sunmedia.ca

St. Catharines federal election candidates may have different prescriptions for improving the healthcare system, but all were united on lowering drug costs Thursday.

New Democratic Party candidate Susan Erskine-Fournier said Canadians aren’t being allowed to access the drugs they need.

“I think right now we’re being held hostage by our pharmaceutical companies,” she told a small crowd during a debate on health care at the St. Catharines library downtown.

She pointed to an acquaintance with cystic fibrosis whose drugs cost more than $3,600 a month to stay alive.

An NDP government is committed to a national drug plan and would put $2.6 billion toward it, she said.

The debate hosted by the Niagara Health Coalition and Retired Teachers of Ontario District 14 drew about 25 people. It touched on the aging population, mental health and the health of First Nations.

Erskine-Fournier was responding to a question about whether candidates’ parties would create a public drug program for Canadians. They were told Carlton University researchers believe a public drug program would save more than $410 billion compared to what Canadians are paying now.

Liberal Party candidate Chris Bittle also favoured cutting costs.

“A bulk purchase of drugs has to happen, it’s common sense,” he said.

He added they also have to save money in people’s pockets in other ways, adding Conservative tax breaks have benefited the wealthiest Canadians.

Incumbent Rick Dykstra of the Conservative Party said the minister of health has already begun the process of sitting down with her provincial and territorial counterparts to begin working on bulk purchases of prescription drugs to lower the cost to Canadians.

A bulk purchasing system is going to save Canadians and the provinces and territorites money long-term, he said.

“We are more than willing to work with the provinces on this issue and once we are re-elected it is certainly something that we are going to continue to do,” Dykstra said.

Saleh Waziruddin of the Communist Party of Canada said his party would go a step further and is calling for nationalizing Big Pharma.

Waziruddin said any dollars spent on drugs should go to research, not private profit.

Even a capitalist newspaper said the pharmaceutical industry needs to step back from pricing or there will be backlash, he said.

Green Party candidate Jim Fannon said the government needs to stop subsidizing the “fattest corporations” on the planet, some of which are Canadian and some for- eign-owned including drug companies, the gas sector and automobile sector. He said those companies have seen their profits skyrocket.

“We treat symptoms now. We don’t treat root causes,” he said. “Until we get to root cause, it doesn’t matter if it’s mental health or what have you, we’re always going to put a Band-Aid on the symptoms and just throwing money at it, which is never effective.”

The Niagara Health Coalition says it represents more than 12,000 Niagara citizens and the Retired Teachers of Ontario District 14 represents 3,000 retired teachers.