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Minister Patty Hajdu

BloodWatch.org ALERT - Federal Government On the verge of issuing more for-profit blood broker licenses.

Minister Patty Hajdu was recently sworn in as Canada's new Federal Health Minister. We are hopeful that Minister Hajdu will reverse her former colleagues decision to export plasma out of Canada, especially since Canadian Blood Services continues to issue warnings regarding the security of our supply chain.

Covid-19 has presented numerous challenges to our donor base and it is critical that Canada become self-sufficient. We must stop permitting brokers from luring donors away from Canadian Blood Services.

Please see our recent op-ed , co-written with the president of the BC Chapter of the Canadian Hemophilia Society which details why we have to collectively come together to stop for-profit blood businesses in Canada

Current Status, Federal

UPDATE – June 2020

BloodWatch.org ALERT – Federal Government On the verge of issuing more for-profit blood broker licenses.

UPDATE – August 24th, 2017

BloodWatch has reached out to Minister Philpott’s office dozens of times by phone, via letters and with multiple trips to Parliament Hill. There has been no public engagement by Minister Philpott her staff or Health Canada on the issue. The Federal Government continues to refuse all open, transparent channels for dialogue.

Please see this recent Globe and Mail article.

December 2016

Minister Philpott was questioned in the Senate on November 24, 2016 by Saskatchewan Senator Pamela Wallin as to why the Minister is licensing private blood brokers. Minister Philpott referenced the non-scientific, non-data supported three-page essay called “The Dublin Consensus” as the “international study” that guided the policy decision to contravene the Krever Inquiry. Minister Philpott also suggested that Canadians do not voluntarily and that the Senators should go out there and find a way to do so. “It’s really unfortunate that we can’t manage to get voluntary donations to meet the very serious need for plasma protein products, so I encourage all senators to find ways to donate blood and plasma as soon as possible.”

Read the transcript of Minister Philpott’s full statement regarding the Regulation of Plasma Products here.

August 2016

BloodWatch.org visited parliament on March 7th, 2016 with a group of tainted blood survivors; NDP Health critic Don Davies, who kindly facilitated a presentation to a diverse group of MP’s representing all parties, hosted us. Minister Philpott did not attend due to scheduling conflicts.

BloodWatch.org’s Executive Director also met with Senators on The Hill. The conversations were constructive. The Senators demonstrated great concern on the issue and gave us a very warm welcome.

We have written multiple letters to Minister Philpott’s office and to the Prime Minister. We have informed Minister Philpott’s staff of the unethical lobbying on behalf of the pharmaceutical industry, coopting of patient groups by CPR’s lobbyist and shared fact-based information that demonstrates this major shift in public health policy is not in the best interest of Canadians or Canadian patients.

We will continue to reach out to Minister Philpott and are hopeful Canadian voices will be heard. We have gained over 15,000 signatures on our SumOfUs campaign and we will deliver them to Minister Philpott on your behalf this fall!

After our blood tragedy, safeguarding the integrity of Canada’s blood system is a modest request.  We know Minister Philpott wants to do the right thing for Canada. We believe that Canadians and our public blood system are worth fighting for. So far, Minister Philpott has refused to consult or have open, transparent discussions with BloodWatch.org and public health organizations across Canada.

Since private plasma collected by Canadian Plasma Resources will not be bought by Canadian Blood Services, it is crucial our Health Minister step in to protect the Canadian blood supply. Every donation collected in Canada should go to saving the life of a Canadian.

Please, Take Action Now To Protect Canada's Blood Supply!

Issues with transparency (and corporate lobby groups)

We made a mistake. We stopped our advocacy efforts right after the bill was passed in Ontario. Since we were able to shut down CPR clinics in Ontario and Quebec, we thought that we already had a ban in place, that our government would listen to the will of the public and health community and never approve private blood brokers in Canada. We were wrong – CPR moved to Saskatchewan and was granted a license to sell Canadian blood plasma.

BloodWatch.org has learned that the lobby to privatize our blood system in Canada has occurred in total secrecy. The PPTA (“Big Pharma” of plasma) has been meeting with Health Canada officials since 2011. The public was never informed of this major change in public blood policy. The PPTA has never registered on the Federal lobby list, so there was no way for the public to know this policy decision was being negotiated on our behalf.

Given Canada’s unique history of our tainted blood crisis, this has been devastating to those who were directly impacted and who fought for the public blood system we have today.

Minister Philpott has not yet conducted open, transparent consultations on the issue. Patient groups, doctors, nurses, health care workers, public health organizations, MLA’s and labour unions across the country have written Minister Philpott asking her to revoke the license to CPR and to stop private-paid plasma in Canada as it contravenes the Krever Inquiry and puts our voluntary blood system at risk. However, Minister Philpott has refused to openly consult.

“We have also committed to set a higher bar for openness and transparency in government. It is time to shine more light on government to ensure it remains focused on the people it serves. Government and its information should be open by default. If we want Canadians to trust their government, we need a government that trusts Canadians. It is important that we acknowledge mistakes when we make them. Canadians do not expect us to be perfect – they expect us to be honest, open, and sincere in our efforts to serve the public interest.”

Prime Minister Trudeau – Mandate Letter to Health Minister 2015

Minister Philpott has recently responded to one petition and continues to support private paid-plasma clinics in Canada; despite the new revelation that Canadian Blood Services will not buy their product.

One of our BloodWatch.org board members was a lawyer throughout the Krever Inquiry; we can assure the public that The Krever Inquiry does not support private paid-plasma clinics in Canada. Citing Krever’s Inquiry, in the government response above, as being supportive of private paid-plasma is an egregious interpretation of the report.

Justin Trudeau

Minister Philpott was given a very specific mandate from our Prime Minister.

Justice Krever

"The relationship between the regulator and the regulated...must never become one in which the regulator loses sight of the principle that it regulates only in the public interest and not in the interest of the regulated."

- Justice Horace Krever, Royal Commission of Inquiry On The Blood System in Canada

Graham Sher

"There's a big differentiator between Canadian Blood Services and an enterprise that is for profit, that is paying donors and that is not assuring Canadians that the product is going to stay in Canada to serve the needs of Canadians."

- Dr Graham Sher, CEO of Canadian Blood Services, June 2016

Kat Lanteigne

"Canadian donors are not meant to be a revenue stream for private corporations looking to make a profit"

- Kat Lanteigne, co-founder, BloodWatch.org

Bob Rae

"For whatever reason, it’s taking federal and provincial governments a long time to make up their minds. It shouldn’t. The integrity of the blood supply, and our continuing resolve to keep a strong volunteer base, should make the answer simple: no to “pay for blood or plasma”. Period.”

- Bob Rae, Former Premier of Ontario / Liberal Leader

News and Media, Federal

National Post: Counterpoint: Protect our domestic supply by shutting down the paid-plasma industry

May 21st, 2020 | May 11, 2020 10:03 AM EDT It is indefensible to use the tragedy of the pandemic, when thousands of Canadian lives are being lost, to peddle a private plasma collection model in Canada that has already been exposed as a sham. In a recent op-ed, Kate Vander Meer and Peter Jaworski argued that experimental COVID-19 […]

CTV News: PM Trudeau urges Canadians to donate blood during COVID-19 pandemic

March 21st, 2020 | Published Thursday, March 19, 2020 1:36PM EDT TORONTO — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is encouraging Canadians to keep donating blood during the widening COVID-19 pandemic. During an update he provided outside of his home in Ottawa on Thursday, Trudeau said donating blood is one way people can help others in need. “Even if you don’t […]

Policy Options: Food protection agency’s approach to chronic wasting disease is immoral

February 5th, 2020 | Paul Sockett, Kat Lanteigne, Neil Cashman October 25, 2019 Agency responsible for protecting Canada’s food supply must stop releasing untested meat for human consumption from CWD-affected facilities. When people are exposed to meat that could be contaminated with chronic wasting disease (CWD), there’s a risk for the development of human cases of CWD. This meat […]

CBC News: Canadian Blood Services to open plasma donation sites to secure supply for patients

August 8th, 2019 | Posted: Aug 07, 2019 3 new centres will be a 1st in Canada for standalone plasma collection of this size and scale Canadian Blood Services will open plasma donation centres in three provinces to help meet the needs of Canadian patients. Plasma is a clear component of blood processed to manufacture therapies such as immune […]

CBC News: Health Canada approves increased plasma donations at private clinic

July 26th, 2019 | Canadian Plasma Resources can pay donors to provide plasma twice per week, Posted: Jul 25, 2019 Health Canada has approved more frequent paid plasma donations. The federal department approved a request by the private company Canadian Plasma Resources to increase the number of times a person can donate from once every six days to twice […]

NDP introduce bill to ban paid blood donations

May 9th, 2019 | For immediate release: May 8, 2019 NDP introduce bill to ban paid blood donations Today, NDP Health Critic Vicki Mowat introduced Bill No. 617 — The Voluntary Blood Donation Act in an effort to strengthen the province’s volunteer blood donor system and limit safety risks associated with paying for blood donations. “By making it clear […]

IPolitics: For-profit plasma collection won’t ensure national self-sufficiency: CBS

March 25th, 2019 | By Marco Vigliotti. Published on Mar 21, 2019 3:46pm Establishing more for-profit plasma collection facilities will not offer long-term assurances that supply will keep pace with the needs of Canadians, or that the plasma collected will stay in the country. That’s the message Canadian Blood Services (CBS) CEO Dr. Graham Sher took to the Senate […]

Leader Post: Paid plasma clinic bleeding Sask. dry, says critic as NDP calls for ban

January 23rd, 2019 | January 23, 2019 The provincial NDP is calling for a ban on paid plasma collection, amidst warnings that a private clinic is exploiting Saskatchewan people and shipping their blood products out of the country. Opposition Leader Ryan Meili used a press conference Wednesday to blast the Canadian Plasma Resources clinic, which has operated in Saskatoon […]

The Atlantic: How Blood-Plasma Companies Target the Poorest Americans

January 18th, 2019 | March 15, 2018 The industry’s business model depends on there being plenty of people who need cash quickly. Medicaid, housing subsidies, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program—these are some of the things that make up the backbone of the U.S.’s social safety net. And the federal government, guided by President Trump’s proposed budget for 2019, is […]

Work Day Minnesota: Plasma Centers Profit off of the Challenges Facing the Working Poor

January 18th, 2019 | June 26, 2018 MAPLE GROVE Claire (whose name has been changed for anonymity) has been donating plasma twice a week for three years.  “My husband and I lost our cleaning-service business three years ago,” the fifty-six-year-old said outside of her local BioLife plasma collection center. “The money doesn’t cover the whole month, but we need […]

The Guardian: My career as an international blood smuggler

January 18th, 2019 | For years, Kathleen McLaughlin smuggled American plasma every time she entered China, home to the world’s largest and deadliest blood debacle. She had no other choice. Learn more.

The University Star: Plasma donation centers exploit college students and the poor

January 18th, 2019 | College students frequently struggle to make ends meet and often live paycheck to paycheck. Some use creative ways to make extra money. Plasma donation centers are well aware of this and prey on students and other impoverished individuals to make a profit. Plasma is the clear liquid portion of blood that remains once red cells, […]

Salon: Medical companies are profiting from harvesting poor peoples’ blood

January 18th, 2019 | December 14, 2017 Donors hope to get $30 a pop for their plasma, but sometimes they aren’t even paid what they’re promised Here’s another example of wealthy corporations sucking poor people dry—literally. While many good samaritans donate blood or bone marrow out of good will, others sell their bodily fluids on a biweekly basis just […]

Maclean’s: A bloody mess: The story behind paid plasma in Canada

September 25th, 2018 | November 22, 2017 Internal documents show Health Canada working hand-in-glove with a private company to push a donation model the Krever inquiry warned against. Has it failed in its role as regulator? In February 2016, Canadian Plasma Resources (CPR) opened its first paid plasma collection centre in Saskatoon with a splashy media event attended by […]

CBC News: Canadian Blood Services says paid plasma clinics are harming voluntary donations

September 25th, 2018 | December 21, 2016 The head of Canadian Blood Services (CBS) says the agency plans to open dozens more collection facilities in the coming years amid signs it is losing volunteer donors to a for-profit clinic that pays people to give plasma. Canadian Plasma Resources, a private operator that gives gift cards to plasma donors, opened […]

The Province: B.C. joins Alberta, Ontario, Quebec in banning payment for blood and plasma

April 29th, 2018 | April 25, 2018 VANCOUVER — Payment for blood and plasma would be prohibited in British Columbia under legislation introduced Thursday. There are no clinics in B.C. that pay people for blood or plasma and the legislation is meant to prevent any from opening. Health Minister Adrian Dix said voluntary donations of blood through Canadian Blood […]

Please, Take Action Now To Protect Canada's Blood Supply!