OTTAWA--The Canadian government must take decisive action now to halt the commercialization of health care, says the 2003 report of Social Watch Canada to be presented this week at the annual World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil.
The report focuses on how governments in Canada are promoting the privatization of health care services and institutions, and thus undermining the accessibility of care based on need rather than ability to pay.
Health, health care system, pharmacare
OTTAWA--The issue of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) for pharmaceuticals has returned to the agenda partly as a result of the Romanow Report but also because drug companies are pushing for extended patent protection. In the wake of the current House of Commons Industry, Science and Technology committee hearings, a new CCPA study by Dr. Joel Lexchin--"Intellectual Property Rights and the Canadian Pharmaceutical Marketplace: Where do we go from here?"--makes key points about IPRs that need to be front and centre in deciding a course for future action.
OTTAWA--Contrary to repeated assurances from the Minister of International Trade and other federal government officials that Canada's health care system is protected from trade challenge under the WTO's General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), a new study released today shows that the government has, in fact, recklessly exposed health care to the GATS commercial rules.