Posted At Winnipeg Sun

BY : Patty Dowd Schmitz

After spending more than a year in fear of a Liberal crackdown on their industry, online pharmacists are welcoming the incoming federal Conservative government as a chance to make a fresh start.

"Having a clean slate to start with is absolutely great," said Andy Troszok, president of the Canadian International Pharmacy Association.

"Our role will be to present our side of the story and make sure the health minister understands who we are, what we do, how we do things and that we're not here to put Canadians at risk."

Steven Fletcher, the Manitoba Conservative MP who served as Opposition health critic, has long defended the industry, saying it should be allowed to prosper as long as there's no evidence Canadians are at risk.

Troszok said his organization, whose members account for more than 80% of all cross-border sales, is approaching the new government with confidence because of the strong relationship it had built with the Tories.

It also found an ally in the NDP government in Manitoba.

The industry was founded in the province and directly employs an estimated 1,300 Manitobans, many in rural communities. Internet pharmacies pump hundreds of millions dollars into the Manitoba economy every year.

Industry Minister Jim Rondeau says he would support a ban on bulk exports but argues further measures don't seem to be needed right now.

"What we want to do is make sure the government doesn't put any major constraints on the growth of our economic prosperity," he said.

Opponents of the trade say they'll urge the new health minister to take immediate action to protect Canadian patients from drug shortages and counterfeit medicine.

SAME ATTENTION?

They worry the Conservatives won't give the issue the same attention outgoing Liberal Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh did.

Dosanjh was weighing his options when the government fell in November, but he called the industry unethical and illegal for more than a year and proposed several regulations that would effectively drive it out of Canada.

He took the initial step of introducing a bill to ban the bulk export of drugs to the U.S. just days before the election was called.

That measure -- supported by the Conservatives, the industry and its opponents -- would have allowed uninsured and underinsured U.S. patients to continue importing cheaper prescription drugs from Canada.

Jeff Poston, executive director of the Canadian Pharmacists Association, said the bill should be reintroduced as a first step, even in the absence of Health Canada evidence the industry poses any danger to Canadians.

But Poston added his members would also like to see the new health minister revisit some of Dosanjh's proposals, which included imposing a residency requirement on patients filling prescriptions in Canada.