Nova Scotia

The changes are included in the Voluntary Blood Donations Act, introduced Monday in the legislature by Health Minister Sarah Hoffman. “Donating blood should not be viewed as a business venture, but as a public resource that saves lives every day,” said Hoffman. She said Bill 3 will protect Alberta’s voluntary blood donation system by preventing […]

Health Minister Jane Philpott Shows Signs Of “Reconsidering” Blood Policy Decision. Health Minister Jane Philpott, who has in the past expressed cautious support for paid plasma, said in a statement Tuesday that she has asked Health Canada to “carefully assess” Dr. Sher’s concerns about the Saskatoon clinic’s effect on the voluntary blood-collection system. “CBS has, […]

January 14, 2017 – The federal government has quietly approved a plasma-for-profit clinic in Saskatoon, drawing fiery criticism from politicians, scientists and patients Three days before Christmas 2016, jingly seasonal music fills the air at Canadian Plasma Resources (CPR) in Saskatoon, located in a non-descript building in a quiet industrial stretch. In one direction, a […]

CEO of CBS speaks out against private-paid plasma clinics. Confirms that they harm the voluntary donor base in Saskatchewan where the private clinic set-up. PLEASE READ CBC’s national news story here.

Stop the export of Canadian blood for profit. Every policy has a story. This is our Canadian story. Watch our video. 

We’re happy to announce that SumOfUs.org, the amazing online campaign platform, is profiling BloodWatch on their site. Check it out and SIGN THE PETITION: Ban for-profit donor-paid plasma collection in Canada. SumOfUs.org is a new world-wide movement for a better global economy. Here’s what they stand for: Governments that answer to citizens – not corporations Fair […]

In November of 2012, Expharma/Canadian Plasma Resources applied for licenses for two plasma collection facilities to be opened in Toronto. At this time, only Quebec had legislation banning payment of donors for blood. With the threat of paid plasma clinics imminent, the Ontario legislature unanimously passed The Voluntary Blood Donations Act in December 2014. This […]

This past week the co-founder of BloodWatch.org, Kat Lanteigne, was in Halifax as part of a cross-country educational tour. Lanteigne’s trip included a public event co-sponsored by the NS Health Network and Council of Canadians as well a press conference with the NS-NDP Health Critic, Dave Wilson. Lanteigne and Wilson urged the Premier Stephen McNeil […]

Canadian Blood Services, the agency that oversees the national supply of blood and blood products, says it wants to collect more plasma from Canadians, and CEO Graham Sher won’t rule out the contentious possibility of paying donors. Although Sher said he would prefer to expand plasma collection using voluntary donors, he said it’s not clear […]

Blood is becoming big business in Canada and Nova Scotian veins could be tapped next. The privately-owned Canadian Plasma Resources has met with provincial government officials in Nova Scotia about opening pay-for-plasma clinics in this province. Canadian Plasma Resources’ CEO confirmed to the NDP that the Liberal government is supportive of the idea. Dave Wilson, […]

There are times we think health care should be taken out of the hands of politicians, and placed in the hands of…well, that’s a problem, isn’t it. We could suggest doctors as the proper shepherds for our health system, but there aren’t enough of them and they should all be too busy. We could offer […]

A company that pays for plasma donations in Saskatchewan is hoping to open locations in the Maritimes, but some organizations argue Canada shouldn’t allow people to be compensated for donating blood products. Canadian Plasma Resources, which uses plasma in the production of pharmaceuticals, opened in Saskatoon in February. Its practice of giving people a $25 […]

The Liberal government is unlikely to proclaim a bill passed in 2012 by the NDP intended to guard against for-profit health-care services, despite pledging to do so during the last election campaign. Health Minister Leo Glavine said Bill 144, the Insured Health Services Act, designed to prevent public money from going to medical services provided […]

The Nova Scotia NDP and an advocacy group for blood safety are pressing for a vote on the new Voluntary Blood Donations Act, or Bill 43. The proposed legislation would ban private, for-profit, pay-for-plasma clinics from opening in Nova Scotia. The national advocacy group BloodWatch says it’s important legislation. Bill 43 received a second reading, […]

About 20 healthcare activists and Canadian Blood Services workers joined an information picket at Scotia Square in downtown Halifax this morning to protest the potential arrival of a private, for-profit blood supply system. Canadian Plasma Resources (CPR), a Saskatchewan company that pays plasma donors, has announced that it hopes to set up shop in Nova […]

A company that recently opened up a controversial pay-for-plasma collection clinic in Saskatoon is looking to bring its services to Nova Scotia. Barzin Bahardoust, CEO of Canadian Plasma Resources, confirmed representatives from his company met with the Nova Scotia government about a year ago, and said the province has been supportive of the idea of […]