Members of Parliament have been guided by evidence and reason tonight by voting
to pass important legislation that will save lives. After nearly seven years of
unnecessary delay, Canada is closer to fulfilling its pledge to assist the
developing world in getting access to affordable medicines for people dying of
treatable diseases such as AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.
Bill C-393, with its "one-license solution," will reduce red tape
and make Canada`s Access to Medicines Regime
(CAMR) easier to use.
But we are not at the finish line yet. The bill will now go to the Senate.?
Given the Harper government`s opposition to Bill C-393, there is obvious
concern that it will seek to block the will of the House
of Commons - the people`s will. To confront this challenge, a new
campaign is being launched tonight - www.LetDemocracyWin.ca
- to encourage the Conservative government and all Senators to pass this bill
without delay.
Consider that the Senate quickly passed the original version of this bill
almost seven years ago, and an identical bill to the current one was recently
studied by a Senate committee, with extensive testimony from experts. With a
potential election on the horizon, politically motivated stall tactics or
instructions from the Prime Minister`s Office to override the House of Commons
vote could terminate the bill.
The legislation to reform CAMR has the support of international aid workers,
human rights organizations, physicians, faith leaders and health activists and
almost 50?000 Canadians who have recently joined a petition calling on Parliament to pass this bill. According to an opinion
poll, 80% of the public also support this bill.
We wish to thank all MPs who supported this bill from each of the parties,
particularly NDP MPs Brian Masse (Windsor West)
and Paul Dewar (Ottawa
Centre), as well as former NDP MP Judy Wasylycia-Leis
(Winnipeg North), for advancing this bill in the
House as far as it went.? We thank and salute all those of our allies in civil society groups, too numerous to mention, who have
participated in this years-long effort.? We are proud to say the campaign to
deliver affordable medicines to people dying of treatable diseases in
developing countries continues!
