TORONTO —
A group of some of Canada’s leading doctors and pharmacists have issued an open letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, urging the federal government to address shortages for critical drugs such as Azithromycin, Lorazepam and Remdesivir that could “imperil the lives” of Canadians amid the COVID-19 pandemic
The Critical Drugs Coalition issued the letter on Thursday, asking the government to bring attention and resources to Canada’s drug supply challenges. These challenges have existed for the past decade but doctors say they have been “greatly exacerbated” due to the novel coronavirus.
“We simply cannot afford to jeopardize the lives and wellbeing of our patients due to an inadequate supply of critical drugs,” the letter reads.
Some of the drugs currently in shortage include forms of Azithromycin, Ceftriaxone, Dexamethasone, Lorazepam, Midazolam, Propofol, Remdesivir, Salbutamol and Tocilizumab, among others. The letter says that health-care professionals have also seen shortages in antibiotic drugs, some of which are on the Tier 3 list, including Penicillin G.
According to the letter, 24 out of 32 drugs on Health Canada’s Tier 3 shortage list are essential for treating COVID-19. Medications on the Tier 3 list are drugs experiencing an active significant shortage and have no suitable alternatives.
With these critical drugs typically prescribed for various condition such as epilepsy, high blood pressure, pain, and asthma, many pharmacies across the country have been limiting patients to one month’s worth of medication at a time to discourage people from stockpiling medication amid the uncertainties around the pandemic.
CTV News previously reported that doctors are also experimenting with different treatments using existing medications to help hospitalized COVID-19 patients, which in some cases, have led to misinformed members of the public stockpiling the medicine and causing shortages for patients suffering from other serious diseases requiring the drugs.
“As frontline pharmacists and physicians, we have seen and heard of serious shortages of essential, critical medications. These drugs are often used simultaneously in ORs, ERs and palliative care wards, as well as ICUs,” the letter reads.
While Canada’s ICUs are seeing fewer COVID-19 patients, the Critical Drugs Coalition says the pandemic has placed a burden on their drug supply with patients often requiring weeks of treatment on ventilators.
Deputy Minister of Health Canada Stephen Lucas said in April that the COVID-19 pandemic will likely lead to shortages of drugs and medical devices for Canadians.
Lucas said the federal government has a team dedicated to addressing the problem and is working with regulators in the U.S., Australia and Europe to identify where the supply-chain disruptions are occurring.
The federal government has also issued an interim order to allow certain international drugs that may not fully meet regulatory requirements to be imported and sold in Canada to help address drug shortages. However, pharmacists and physicians say they’re still facing shortages.
CALLS FOR IMMEDIATE ACTION
Health experts behind the letter worry that a likely second wave of infections in Canada will further increase drug shortages and put Canadians lives at risk by compromising the optimal care for their health unless certain measure are put in place.
While the letter is addressed to Trudeau, the Critical Drugs Coalition is calling for immediate action by all levels governments including provincial, territorial, and municipal with national support. The letter said Canada will “perpetually face drug shortages” unless concrete action is taken.
The Critical Drugs Coalition is a grassroots, volunteer-run coalition of physicians, pharmacists and others concerned by drug shortages amid the pandemic. The coalition recommends that Canada find a long-term solution to the problem, starting with the robust stockpiling of critical medications.
“Many of the critical care drugs should be part of the National Strategic Emergency Stockpile. However, it is clear that Canada simply did not have enough stockpiled to meet the demand during the COVID-19 pandemic and that there has been under allocation and underspending for the emergency stockpile,” according to the letter.
Some of Canada’s national medical bodies including the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) and the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians (CAEP) have also signed the letter.
In order for the stockpiling strategy to be effective, the letter says governments must work closely with hospitals across Canada to establish a comprehensive list of essential medications for hospital-based care. Additionally, it suggests governments develop a plan to obtain medications in a co-ordinated manner to prevent unintended competition.
The letter is also calling for a publicly owned or supported critical drugs manufacturer as a safeguard against future drug shortages.
China and India supply some 80 per cent of the active ingredients and raw materials for many of the medications, and while some drugs are assembled in Canada, none are completely manufactured here from start to finish.
The letter explained that this national manufacturer would specialize in creating the critical drugs on the Critical Medications List, and “would be primarily involved in satisfying significant portions” of national medication demands.
Going forward, the letter is urging greater transparency and communication from governments to the health sector and the public on the supply of critical medicines to ensure drug supply issues are addressed before they pose any serious risks to sick patients.
“We encourage our government to give this urgent issue attention and efforts now, so that Canadians can have the confidence that their healthcare system will be there when they most need it,” the letter said.
VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.
The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.
The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.
The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.
The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.
MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.
In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.
“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.
“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.
“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.
The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.
“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”
The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.
The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.
A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.
Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.
Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.
“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.
“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”
Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.
“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.
Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.
“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”
But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.
Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.
“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.
Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.
The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
