QUEBEC — There is no good reason why pharmacy mogul Jean Coutu should score a private meeting with the health minister, according to Québec solidaire MNA Amir Khadir.
Coutu, who founded in 1969 the Quebec flagship company bearing his name, and his son François J. Coutu, the president and CEO of the firm, denounced Tuesday through TVA, what they see as a government intrusion into their business.
Laws 81 and 92, which passed with unanimous support at the National Assembly in June and December, respectively, basically give the government power to issue calls for tender to obtain the best prices for drugs (by making manufacturers and wholesalers compete) and ensure more transparent billing in pharmacies.
The Coutus in the interview argued the laws have created uncertainty and rattled investors, and that is making them “re-evaluate a lot of things” — including the family’s investments in Quebec.
“If they want to meet with me, I’m very open to meet with them,” Health Minister Gaétan Barrette said on Wednesday.
Added deputy premier Lise Thériault: “I think we have to do everything in our power to keep our head offices in Quebec, including the Jean Coutu Group.”
But Khadir was having none of it. “It brings back the question, what is the role of money in access to power? If we criticize the fact that paying high prices to attend a cocktail (with ministers) is unjust and unfair … you know, the parliamentary commission, they’ve had the opportunity to come and present their ideas, why should they have the ability to access the minister and not all those patients that for years have paid user fees and high drug prices?
“I would suggest that the best thing for the Coutu family is to recognize that for years they have profited from a situation where they were unduly privileged — not because of them, but because of wrong choices of the government — and to accept also the fact that the Quebec people like them and they have a better fate in doing business here than anywhere else around the world,” Khadir said.
Québec solidaire and, to some extent, the Parti Québécois, have been pushing for more aggressive changes, notably the creation of Pharma-Quebec, which would allow the government to negotiate in bulk the prices of drugs, not only generics but also patented drugs.
The parties argue Quebec taxpayers could save up to $2 billion.
The Coutu family, who operate Pro Doc, a generic medicine manufacturer, warned in the interview it’s possible the laws will lead to a reduction in the number of suppliers, which could, in turn, cause drug shortages.
They were not immediately available for comment on Wednesday.
The Coutus stopped short Tuesday of saying the family is thinking of selling the company, but said it “is asking itself questions.”
Meanwhile, the Association québécoise des pharmaciens propriétaires (AQPP) is contesting in arbitration the government’s review of pharmacists’ compensation model. The association argues the resulting revenue shortfall has led to the loss of 1,000 jobs — including 300 pharmacists — as well as pharmacies across Quebec cutting 3,500 hours from their hours of operation.
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