Speaking Notes for the Honourable Leona Aglukkaq Minister of Health - Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse Announcement

March 27, 2013
Ottawa, ON

Check Against Delivery

Good morning.

It's a pleasure to be here today with the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse for such an important occasion: the release of their national prescription drug abuse strategy called First Do No Harm: Responding to Canada's Prescription Drug Crisis.

I specifically want to thank Carolyn Davison, from the Nova Scotia Department of Health and Wellness, and Dr. Susan Ulan, Coalition on Prescription Drug Misuse/College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta, for their work as Co-chairs and their continued leadership.

I also want to acknowledge the Assembly of First Nations and their important contributions to this process.

PDA OVERVIEW & CCSA ROLE

Prescription drugs play an important role in the health and well-being of Canadians. As we go through life, most of us will rely on them at one time or another.

And for many, this will be a short-term situation, and will result in better health by the time we've stopped using them.

The abuse of certain prescription drugs, however, represents a serious health and safety issue in Canada.

I have heard heart-breaking stories of abuse and addiction, of families in distress and struggling communities.

As Minister of Health, I take great interest in the work the CCSA and its partners are doing to address prescription drug abuse and I want to applaud the CCSA for reaching such an important milestone.

First Do No Harm is a roadmap that will help guide work on this issue over the next decade and further energize the dialogue that's already underway in this country.

The report is clear: prescription drug abuse is an issue we all have a responsibility to help address. No one group can solve it alone.

We owe it to the individuals, families and communities struggling with drug addiction who are looking to us to make much needed changes.

Federal Role

From a federal perspective, our Government plays several roles and we remain committed to fulfilling our responsibilities to protect and promote the health of Canadians. We provide:

• Leadership
• Regulatory oversight, and
• Financial investments in health programming and health benefits for First Nations and Inuit

Our Government is committed to doing its part to prevent the abuse and misuse of prescription drugs.

To prevent the risk of diversion of prescription drugs containing controlled substances, we imposed tough new conditions on the licences of dealers who manufacture and distribute products that contain the controlled release formulation of oxycodone -- a group of products that have been particularly susceptible to abuse.

Going forward, licensed dealers are now required to report sales of these products separately from other products, report spikes in sales, changes in distribution patterns, as well as any unusual transactions.

Police must also be notified of any unexplained losses or thefts.

Part of our role includes providing important health services to First Nations and Inuit.

In doing so, we take client safety and prescription drug abuse very seriously. That's why we implemented a number of changes to our pharmacy program for First Nations and Inuit clients. Our pharmacy program features several key client safety elements including;

• Quantity and dose limits on drugs of abuse
• Warning messages to pharmacists
• Expanding surveillance to help rapidly detect potential misuse of prescription drugs, and
• A Prescription Monitoring Program that prevents "double doctoring" for high risk clients.

We also make significant financial investments in programs and activities that address the health challenges linked to prescription drugs.

Last year we invested over $260 million for mental health and addictions programming for First Nations and Inuit.

While these are important steps, we are always looking for ways to make the system better, and help avoid prescription drug abuse.  I want to thank the CCSA for giving us a very helpful document that can help inform future decision-making.

As First Do No Harm makes very clear, only by working together - governments, professional associations, private insurance companies, researchers, and others - can progress be achieved.

Recognizing the important role that governments play, I'm pleased to report that last September, my provincial and territorial counterparts agreed to work together to identify - and work on - new areas of cooperation.

As Ministers of Health, we must ensure that patients who require appropriate pain management get what they need. At the same time, we must continue to promote the safe use of potentially addictive drugs while preventing their misuse and abuse.

Today, the CCSA can take pride in bringing First Do No Harm to life. Like everyone here, I look forward to reviewing the recommendations they've put forward and continuing to advance our work on this issue.

Thank you.