愛污传媒

Skip to main content

Canada's health minister calls mass exports of Ozempic to U.S. an 'outrageous' abuse

Share
VANCOUVER -

Canada's federal health minister says he's working with provinces to prevent the mass exportation of essential medications after thousands of doses of the diabetes and weight-loss drug Ozempic were shipped from British Columbia to the United States.

Jean-Yves Duclos says the level of "abuse" was "outrageous" after a Texas-based doctor with a licence to practise in Nova Scotia wrote 17,000 prescriptions for the drug that were filled by two pharmacies in B.C. then mailed to American residents.

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia says it suspended the doctor's licence on an interim basis after learning of the prescriptions.

Duclos says legal ways to prevent medications being exported in mass quantities in future will be explored through the Food and Drugs Act.

B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix, who took part in a news briefing with Duclos in Vancouver on Wednesday, says the province worked with Nova Scotia to take action within a few days after flagging the flow of thousands of doses of Ozempic to the U.S. over a three-month period.

Dix says assistant deputy health ministers from both the federal and provincial governments have met to discuss preserving Ozempic supplies for Canadians and will be looking for permanent solutions.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 12, 2023.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

The Maritime Sikh Society says the body of a young employee who died at a Walmart in Halifax last weekend was found by her mother.

Four people are dead and another is in hospital after a Tesla driving through downtown Toronto at a high rate of speed crashed into a guardrail and struck a concrete pillar on Lake Shore Boulevard.

Montreal police say four teenagers suffered stab wounds after an altercation near John F. Kennedy High School in the city's Villeray鈥擲aint-Michel鈥擯arc-Extension borough on Thursday.

Voting officials say recounts in two ridings that could determine the outcome of British Columbia's election won't start until Sunday afternoon 鈥 and it won't be until Monday before the makeup of the legislature is finalized.

Local Spotlight

A new resident at a Manitoba animal rescue has waddled her way into people's hearts.

Hundreds of people ran to the music of German composer and pianist Beethoven Wednesday night in a unique race in Halifax.

He is a familiar face to residents of a neighbourhood just west of Roncesvalles Avenue.

A meteor lit up our region's sky last night 鈥 with a large fireball shooting across the horizon over Lake Erie at around 7:00 p.m.

Residents of Ottawa's Rideauview neighbourhood say an aggressive wild turkey has become a problem.

A man who lost his life while trying to rescue people from floodwaters, and a 13-year-old boy who saved his family from a dog attack, are among the Nova Scotians who received a medal for bravery Tuesday.

A newly minted Winnipegger is hoping a world record attempt will help bring awareness for the need for more pump track facilities in the city.

A Springfield, Ont. man is being hailed a 'hero' after running into his burning home to save his two infant children.

Hortense Anglin was the oldest graduate to make her way across the platform at York University's Fall Convocation ceremony this week. At the age of 87, she graduated with an Honours degree in Religious Studies.