Hon. Jane Cordy: My question is for Senator Gold.

Senator Gold, as we enter cold and flu season, on top of the increasing COVID numbers that we are seeing, families are experiencing an alarming rise in children’s illnesses across the country. The Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario here in Ottawa has reported that between the months of May and September, the hospital saw the busiest months in the organization’s 50-year history. Officials with the hospital are pointing to a surge in flu and COVID-19 cases. They have seen about 10 times more patients with respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, now than before the pandemic. The virus, which disproportionately affects small children, features symptoms including fever, runny nose and coughing, and can lead to difficulty breathing.

As parents try to alleviate these symptoms for their children with medications from the local pharmacy, they are often finding empty shelves. Last week, Health Canada released a statement recognizing the shortage of infant and children’s acetaminophen and ibuprofen, but gave little to no details about how they plan to address this situation. Health Canada says the shortages are because of an increase in demand, but shelves have been empty for months, Senator Gold.

Why are the shelves empty? Also, Senator Gold, could you provide us with details on how Health Canada plans to increase the supply of these much-needed products and get them to families who most need them?

Senator Cordy: Thank you, Senator Gold. I am very pleased to hear that Minister Duclos is speaking to the manufacturers and that they are looking for other producers for those types of medication for families.

The assumption would be that demand for such products would be very similar to that for the same products south of the border, but anecdotal evidence — and that is people telling stories to the media — from families who have been to the United States report that they are not seeing the same empty shelves in the U.S. as we are seeing here in Canada.

What is the reason for the drastic shortage of infant and children’s products in Canada? What are the barriers that are specific to Canada and Canadian distributors that are preventing these products from getting to Canadian shelves, and what will Health Canada do to ease these barriers so that we will have products? I am really pleased that you told us earlier that Minister Duclos is speaking to providers, but it seems that if we are having shortages in Canada, very often it is reflected in the United States or the reverse. But that does not seem to be the case. Is there a reason for that? If there is, can we work at finding solutions?