Canadian veterinarians no longer need to use 40 per cent of the medicines they once had access to, a number that the national association president says is concerning.
Tracy Fisher, president of the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association, says medicines for animals, from dogs and cats to sheep and cattle, are becoming increasingly unavailable.
She says Canadian regulations prevent drug companies from going through the process of getting approval to distribute a drug, even if the drug is available in other countries.
Animal welfare issues arise when veterinarians have fewer drugs at their disposal, she added.
“It's very frustrating when you have an animal that is suffering from a disease and you can't treat it, but you can treat a colleague across the border or in another location,” Fisher said in a recent interview.
Shortages of medicines could also impact the food system, she said. For example, new drugs to treat dairy cows may not be available in Canada, resulting in veterinarians using older, less effective drugs.
“During that time, (cows) may not be able to participate in the milk supply system,” Fisher said.
“In the worst-case scenario, a farmer loses that cow. That affects the bottom line. And every time that happens, it becomes more expensive for the producer. That has to be passed on to us,” Fisher added.
Sawyer Daly, a registered veterinary technician, said important drugs to combat cattle lice are no longer available.
Daly, who works in southern Alberta, said she doesn't understand why the product isn't available when it's still available in the United States.
“We are losing access to products that are completely safe and ethical to use on animals,” she said this week in Regina at Canadian Western Agriculture, Canada's largest livestock show.
“It was a really great product, but due to different regulations in the United States and Canada, it was discontinued.”
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Fisher said other drugs to control urinary problems in dogs will also no longer be available.
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“If it goes off the market, many animals will have a problem that will be difficult to control,” she says.
“If you're the owner of a fairly large dog and it's leaking urine all over the house, that could be a very serious problem for you.”
Fisher said the problem lies in regulatory changes Health Canada made in 2017.
The agency said it imposed new inspection standards that year that require manufacturing facilities in other countries to be inspected by Canadian authorities.
Manufacturers don't want to pay for these tests because Canada is a small market and the drugs are already approved in other countries, she said.
Since then, many more drugs have become unavailable in Canada. “Forty percent of the medicines we had in the 1980s are gone,” Fisher said.
Health Canada said in a statement that the changes were made to strengthen oversight of veterinary drugs.
It added that Canada's small share of the global market could result in delays in access.
“Health Canada will continue to consult with industry stakeholders, veterinary experts, and provincial (and) territorial partners to identify barriers and develop solutions.”
The agency said it has also introduced new measures to bring products to market, including prioritizing reviews, granting conditional approvals and facilitating consultations between the pharmaceutical industry, veterinarians and farmers.
“Health Canada will continue to build on this progress.”
The veterinarian association is calling on Ottawa to work with international regulators, including the U.S. and Europe, to streamline drug approvals.
Fisher said Canada should license a product if it has been approved in two other reputable countries with strong safety regulations.
“(The drug) already meets European, British and American standards,” Fisher said. “It eliminates some of the bureaucracy and red tape that prevents some of these things from happening.”
Federal Agriculture Minister Heath McDonald told reporters this week that he had met with veterinarians about the issue. “We're going to work together to figure out what we need to do,” he told Regina.
Daly said more research staff with veterinary backgrounds are needed, including those with livestock experience.
“I would like to see better representation of people involved in large animal health care, reducing bias in policy and decision-making,” she said.
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