Mr. Speaker.

Today I have the privilege of introducing a piece of legislation that will improve patient access to drugs, and will launch a major reform of our province’s drug system.

Mr. Speaker, I’m referring to the Transparent Drug System for Patients Act.

This bill is the cornerstone of our government’s comprehensive plan to reform Ontario’s drug system... to transform it into something more efficient, more transparent, and more accountable... to change it into a system that patients can understand and trust. Mr. Speaker, the case for change is strong.

The sad reality is that our drug system has been failing us. That’s strong language. But it’s true.

Our drug system hasn’t been serving patients as well as it should.

It hasn’t been serving taxpayers.

And it hasn’t been serving the professionals who work within it each and every day.

Equally troubling, the escalating costs of our drug system are threatening its very sustainability.

Our government has been very clear in expressing its support for our public health care system. And we’ve demonstrated our willingness to make bold changes in order to protect and strengthen medicare.

The reforms we’re introducing today are one more part of this effort.

And let me be very clear, right at the outset, about one very important point.

It’s this. With respect to coverage for Ontario Drug Program recipients, there will be no changes. Not to co-payments, not to deductibles, not to eligibility.

If you’re a patient who currently receives prescription drugs through ODB, Trillium or through the Ministry of Community and Social Services, you will continue to receive those drugs. Period.

Our reforms are designed to give patients better access to drugs. And better access to drugs also means getting better value for taxpayers’ money.

The people of Ontario – the people we in this Legislature represent – spend a staggering $3.4 billion annually on the Ontario Drug Benefit Program.

Standard business practice dictates that volumes are rewarded… that the biggest customer gets the best price.

But for some reason that hasn’t been the case here in Ontario.

That, Mr. Speaker, is about to change.

Improving patient access also means getting drugs to them faster and more efficiently. We need to make the drug review system more efficient and more transparent.

And that, too, is a key part of our plan.

The legislation I am introducing today – the Transparent Drug System for Patients Act – will, if passed, do the following:

• It will improve patient access to drugs through conditional listings and measures like rapid review of breakthrough drugs
• It will ensure better value for money through changes to drug pricing and reimbursement.
• And it will introduce competitive pricing and partnership agreements, allowing us to strike the best possible deals when purchasing drugs.

And let me make one point very clearly: No, this is not ‘Reference Based Pricing.’

This is about finally having a forum in a transparent process to negotiate a better price. A better price for the people of this province.

Mr. Speaker, our package of changes will also close loopholes that lead to unacceptable price increases for drugs.

Our plan will introduce off-formulary interchangeability.

That means that cheaper – but equally effective – generic drugs can be used in place of brand names.

This isn’t just good news for patients who need drugs, it’s good news for those who pay for those drugs.

Out-of-pocket purchasers and employers in this province will save an estimated $30 million on their drug plans.

Our package of reforms will also put an end to the practice of pharmacies cutting deals with generic manufacturers for back-door rebates in exchange for shelf space.

These rebates fuel increased prices, and those mark-ups are paid for with taxpayer dollars.

Taxpayers are not well-served by this rebate scheme. And we’re going to put an end to it.

The changes we’re introducing will give the people of Ontario better access to better drugs, and to do it more quickly.

Drugs will be approved more quickly. We will permit rapid funding decisions for breakthrough drugs for life-threatening conditions. And if a drug is not approved, we’ll tell both patients and manufacturers why – quickly and honestly.

This will be an enormous benefit to patients and to Ontario’s drug manufacturers anxious to introduce new products to the marketplace.

The legislation I am introducing today would also promote the appropriate use of medications by paying pharmacists for providing direct patient care.

Pharmacists have been telling us for years that they want to play a bigger role in our public health care system.

We agree.

They are an underutilized resource, especially for patients managing chronic diseases. The changes we’re introducing will allow pharmacists to use their skills and expertise to unlock better health – and we will compensate them fairly for it!

Our plan calls for us to invest in health system research by establishing a fund to help pharmaceutical companies make the case that certain drugs help to save on overall health costs.

This fund will include contributions from pharmaceutical companies and from government.

Let me assure everyone that we are profoundly sensitive to the importance of research and innovation in the pharmaceutical sector.

I know that advances – innovations – in pharmaceutical products can mean renewed life for Ontarians. I’ve seen innovative drugs extend and enhance the lives of loved ones challenged by HIV. And I often think that the drugs available to us today may well have prevented my father’s untimely death from a stroke 14 years ago.

This innovation must continue. It’s essential for our province and for our people. The money that our pharmaceutical firms spend on research and innovation is money well-spent. And they will be fairly compensated for the innovative drugs they bring to market.

Reforms are also needed with respect to transparency and accountability. We will strengthen transparency and accountability in the drug system by giving patients a role in drug listing decisions.

And we will help to build a more accountable system through the creation of a Citizens’ Council, making Ontario the first province in Canada to permit direct patient involvement in both decision-making and in policy direction. I’m very proud of that.

To further enhance accountability, we will also create a new position of Executive Officer of the Ontario public drug programs, to manage the publicly-funded drug system and make listing decisions.

I’ve said on several occasions now that this is a balanced package, and I mean it. Our doctors will also benefit.

We will free Ontario’s doctors from the crushing burden of paperwork associated with Section Eights. We believe that doctors should be spending their time on patient care, not on paperwork.

Section Eight would be replaced by a much more effective conditional listing system, supported by an exceptional access mechanism for very exceptional cases. These mechanisms will be placed in the hands of the Executive Officer, a much leaner decision-making structure.

Yes, this is an extremely balanced package.

We understand that there are a lot of players in the drug marketplace: doctors, drug manufacturers, pharmacists, retailers, patients… I see many of them represented here today! And I say to you: our package is sensitive to each of your needs.

Mr. Speaker, my staff and I had an opportunity to brief stakeholders on these changes earlier today. And I know that as they look at our package of reforms, each of them will see many elements that they themselves proposed during the Drug System Secretariat review process.

Our package aims to strike a fair and equitable balance – and I believe it succeeds.

And Mr. Speaker, let me emphasize how important it is that the reforms we’re introducing today do succeed.

Drug costs have risen more than 140 per cent since 1997.

And it’s not just government feeling the heat. Employers in the province, who use the government’s drug formulary as a guide to determine what drugs they will pay for, have also been experiencing dramatic increases; they now spend $2.6 billion a year.

We need better drug pricing. We need a more efficient and accountable drug system.

And our balanced and comprehensive package of changes, anchored on the Transparent Drug System for Patients Act, will enable us to achieve just that.

Mr. Speaker, I’m very proud of the bill I’m tabling here today. And I look forward the upcoming debates, both in this Chamber and across our province.

And I cannot help but note that the two Opposition parties both face something of a dilemma.

The Leader of the Opposition is trapped between his instinct to try to be all things to all people, and his bizarre promise to somehow improve health care by taking $2.6 billion out of the system.

He prattles on about "efficiency"... we’re actually doing it -- without the harmful cuts his party is famous for. This debate will force him to show his true colours.

And the third party still marches onward with no regard for economic reality that we simply cannot afford to pay for each and every drug for every patient.

I’m proud of this bill. And I’m proud of the team who helped us develop this package of changes, particularly Helen Stevenson and Brent Fraser.

The people of Ontario will be well-served by this bill. They deserve a more efficient, more transparent, and more accountable drug system... a system they can understand and trust.

The legislation I’m tabling today will make that a reality.

Thank you.