Ontario Liberal leadership candidate Michael Coteau is raising the alarm concerning potential insulin shortages after a weekend trip to Windsor by a group of American diabetics to buy cheaper insulin.
In a news release, Coteau points to Americans making trips to cities like Windsor to buy insulin a tenth the rate stateside as cause for concern.
“Patients in Windsor and other Ontario border communities need assurance supplies of insulin and other prescription drugs will not be compromised by increasing cross-border importation by US patients,” said Coteau.
US senator and Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders made a campaign stop at Windsor’s The Olde Walkerville Pharmacy on Sunday with a busload of American diabetics to buy the drug the patients need to survive.
Sanders lamented the need for Americans to buy insulin in Canada with a single vial of the drug use to regulate blood sugars in diabetic patients costing $340 in the US, compared to just $30 in Canada.
“We love our Canadian neighbours and we thank them so much but, we should not have to come to Canada to get the medicine we need for our kids to stay alive,” said Sanders to the crowd gathered outside the pharmacy. “We can do that in America.”
The trip is one of many seen across Canada as part of the so-called “Caravans to Canada” campaign which sees Americans crossing the border to buy insulin in Canada.
Sanders is pushing for reform in the US that would cap the price of insulin and more aggressively prosecute companies caught fixing the price of medication.
Coteau highlights more than 20 pieces of US federal and state level legislation this year that would allow wholesale or individual importation of drugs from Canada.
“People in Windsor, like all Canadians, are extremely sympathetic to our American neighbours who face rising drug prices that may force them to choose between feeding their families and filling their prescriptions,” said Coteau. “But Canada simply cannot meet the medication supply needs of a country ten times its size.”
Coteau is urging Health Canada to “carefully monitor” the insulin supply in Windsor and other border communities.
While there are increasing concerns related to Canada’s insulin supply in the face of the caravans, even seeing a letter backed by health organizations to the federal health minister warning of potential shortages, not everyone is worried.
Operations manager at The Olde Walkerville Pharmacy, John George, says the trips by Americans to buy insulin in Canada aren't new and doesn’t believe shelves are about to go bare.
“Honestly, I don’t think so. It wasn’t a massive volume that they acquired,” said George. “They are welcome anytime to join us. Anything we can do to help, we’ll always be glad to do it.”
Coteau feels pharmacists would benefit from “clear direction” from Health Canada on how to respond to the demand from US patients.
Coteau is the Member of Provincial Parliament for Don Valley East.
