On April 1, 2019, Health Canada created new regulatory service fees to license and maintain veterinary medications for sale in Canada.
- These new fees include increases from 39% – 500% by 2027, and will affect the availability of the medicines that animals need to stay healthy.
- CAHI analysis predicts a loss of, or significant price increases for, 80 to 90% of registered animal medicines.
This is a huge step backward toward increased use of more crude, compounded medications, more use of off label drugs, and poorer health care for animals as both companies and animal owners struggle to manage cost.
How you can get involved
The impact of higher service fees
- Large financial increases for suppliers of animal medicines to bring in and maintain new licensed products to the Canadian market
- Medicines that are currently available would be withdrawn from the market because of cost or prices will be passed on to end users
- Less access to inovative animal health products and fewer claims for minor uses or minor species
What it means for you and your pet
- Less access to affordable veterinary medicines for your pet
- More veterinary procedures that could have been prevented or treated
- Poorer health care for your pet
What it means for farmers and ranchers
- A competitive disadvantage in global markets and to imported products
- Access to veterinary products will be decreased even further
- Fewer registered claims for all species, especially for minor species
- Increased culling to manage animal health challenges and maintain animal welfare
What it means for veterinarians and clinics
- Losing these medications would limit the ability to practice using modern medicine
- Small to medium sized animal health companies could go out of business resulting in fewer treatment options and less innovation
- Without access to necessary drugs the alternatives would be:
- Using less effective (and sometimes counterfeit) products to reduce cost
- Not treating an animal, which compromises animal welfare
- Euthanasia