What Is Happening with Vanessa's Law?
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Osgoode Hall Law School of York University Osgoode Digital Commons Obiter Dicta Alumni & Law School Publications 1-24-2017 Volume 90, Issue 9 (2017) Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/obiter_dicta Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation "Volume 90, Issue 9 (2017)" (2017). Obiter Dicta. 46. http://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/obiter_dicta/46 This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the Alumni & Law School Publications at Osgoode Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Obiter Dicta by an authorized administrator of Osgoode Digital Commons. Volume 90 | Number 9 | obiter-dicta.ca The Definitive Source for Osgoode News since 1928 Tuesday, January 24, 2017 THE PROTECTING CANADIANS FROM UNSAFE DRUGS ACT: What is happening with Vanessa’s Law? Source: https://www.hc-sc.gc.caahc Author › Osgoode Health Law Association On 6 December 2013, Conservative Member of if Health Canada had evidence of significant harms Parliament for Oakville, Terence Young, introduced warranting recall of pharmaceutical and medical In this Issue... the (Vanessa’s Law). The Act aims to provide Canadians device products from the market, and even if other with a more stringent drug-monitoring system. international drug regulators, such as the United editors' note Work, Life and Politics Without dissent from any of Canada’s federal political States Food and Drug Administration, recalled these 2 parties, Vanessa’s Law received Royal Assent and became products from their markets, Health Canada had Canadian law on 6 November 2014 as an amendment no unilateral authority to either mandate labelling news to the Food and Drugs Act. Vanessa’s Law applies to changes or recall drug or medical device products The Superbug Thread 3 therapeutic products including prescription and over- from the market. opinion the-counter medications, vaccines, gene therapies, Canadians may also feel uneasy learning that man- The Trudeau Enigma 7 cells, tissues and organs, and medical devices. ufacturers may deem adverse drug reactions, or side Vanessa’s Law was named after Terence Young’s effects, “commercially confidential information.” opinion daughter, Vanessa, 15, who died suddenly of a heart attack Drug regulators may not be permitted to disclose Global Affairs; The Year Ahead 10 while on a prescription drug that was later deemed to be of this information to protect the business inter- unsafe and subsequently recalled from the market. ests of drug companies. This is significant because arts & culture Many Canadians might be surprised to learn that when Health Canada cannot disclose information Horror Story 2 11 that prior to Vanessa’s Law,, Health Canada did not on adverse drug reactions, this information does not have the authority to recall unsafe products or man- reach the public or our doctors. Therefore, if people date changes to drug labels. Instead, Health Canada taking medications experience side effects from a sports engaged in closed-door negotiations with manufac- drug that they are taking, but the pertinent side Austin Mathews 15 turers to determine the actions manufacturers would effects information has not been disclosed, doctors take when products were shown to be unsafe. Even may not be able to identify the side effect as resulting ››› Continued on page 7 2 Obiter Dicta EDITORS' NOTE AuthorWork, › Kay Wang Life and Politics Creative Director I write this sitting in my boyfriend’s car as he drives around running errands. I blame him for my unfocused thoughts as he annoys me with his eccentricities whilst speeding down the 401. The truth is, work-life-love balance has been partic- ularly hard of late. So much – both personal and polit- ical – has been weighing on my mind that I’ve been finding it difficult to think, to feel, to breathe. As if January is not already marred by stress – what with marks being released last week, and the perpet- ually encroaching possibility of a jobless summer – we also have had the misfortune of witnessing the inau- guration of the Trump administration. In realizing that the worst-case scenario has just become our reality, we watch incredulously as extremist attitudes, fuelled by Source: http://cloudfront.mediamatters.org/ fear, become mainstream, and ultra-right nationalist parties gain momentum across Europe. We can no longer afford the luxury (or hypocrisy) of believ- ing that there is any separation between our personhood and our politics. Not only do global politics have direct consequences on our personal lives, how we choose to live matters. The Trump administration is but a reflection of ongoing divisiveness over social issues that have finally reached a boiling point. There is anger and frustration on both sides because agreeing to disagree on funda- mental beliefs had led us nowhere. More critically than ever, our personal politics matter, our beliefs matter, our values matter. Because, at the end of the day, it is the strength of our conviction that will be our saving grace. At the crossroad of my Chinese heritage, my femi- nism, and my hedonism, I find myself in a political- identity crisis, questioning myself on basic political, moral, and personal values I always thought were mine. I wonder that if I filtered out the ‘biased’ ideas instilled in me by my parents, the media, my education, how much of what I believe in would remain. I worry about whether I am dating the right person, if this is the right time, what kind of lawyer I want to be, what kind of lawyer I should be, how I value my parents’ opinions, who to make friends with, how I should participate in capi- talism, how much capitalism has benefited me, when do I want to get married, and whether I want children. And I wondered if any of that even matters. Then, on Sunday, when women (and allies) across North America gathered to march against hopelessness, I realized my cynicism has become so deep that it has dam- aged my drive in life. I have rolled my eyes earlier at the idea of white feminism taking over social media, and the pointlessness of such a protest against Trump’s inaugura- tion. But after the march, the collective social media actu- ally induced in me that mixture of humility, gratitude and hope I feel whenever communities are united over a cause. We need hope - because not only can our actions © 2016 Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP. All rights reserved. effect change, they ought to. editorial board staff writers TheObiter Dicta is published biweekly editor-in-chief | Erin Garbett Simmy Sahdra during the school year, and is printed by managing editor | Ian Mason Christopher McGoey Weller Publishing Co. Ltd. creative director | Kay (Jia) Wang Hunter Norwick business managers | Vincent Ho a. Osgoode Hall Law School, 0014g Usman Javed Obiter Dicta is the official student newspaper York University editorial staff of Osgoode Hall Law School. The opinions 4700 Keele Street communications manager | expressed in the articles contained herein are layout staff Toronto, on m3j 1p3 Maneesha Gupta not necessarily those of the Obiter staff. The e. [email protected] Kareem Webster Yasaman Bahremand Obiter reserves the right to refuse any submis- w. obiter-dicta.ca copy editor | Shannon Corregan, sion that is judged to be libelous or defamatory, t. @obiterdictaoz Melissa Belmonte contributors contains personal attacks, or is discriminatory news editor | Simmy Sahdra Jesse Beatson, Jeevan Singh Kuner, on the basis of sex, race, religion, or sexual ori- opinions editor | Jerico Espinas and Harrison Jordan entation. Submissions may be edited for length arts & culture editor | Nadia Aboufariss and/or content. sports editor | Kenneth Lam NEWS Tuesday, January 24, 2017 3 The Superbug Threat: Combatting Antimicrobial Resistance Author ›Jerico Espinas Opinion Editor Source: http://cloudfront.mediamatters.org/ Source: https://www.ft.com/ The issue of antimicrobial resistant (AMR) superbugs, in her femur and hip while in India, was likely exposed to The Lancet that prompted a series of international inves- wherein pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi CRE and had those strains transfer carbapenem resistance tigations, which revealed that mcr-1 had already spread develop ways to resist different drug treatments, is rapidly genes to nearby bacteria. to other countries, such as Denmark, Germany, Vietnam, becoming an issue on the international stage. In 2016, the Many professionals in the health community, includ- and the United States. Critically, the convergence of the United Nations General Assembly met to discuss the issue ing policymakers and epidemiologists, see this develop- mcr-1 gene with other resistant genes into one superbug of AMR and the G20 meeting included AMR in its closing ment as a red flag. The patient in Nevada was quarantined is a real possibility. communique, placing strong emphasis on the need to both after tests showed resistance, limiting the possibility of Importantly, international actors have paid attention to develop new drugs and implement policies that limit over- exposure to other patients. However, experts claim that the concerns voiced by the health profession over AMR. The zealous drug use. These meetings reveal the concern that she’s a symptom of a much larger trend due the rapidity inclusion of AMR in important forums such as the UN and the many actors have over AMR’s threat to pubic health, eco- of AMR and the spread of globalization. That is, as popula- G20 shows that advocacy is working. It is another question, nomic growth, and social stability. tions migrate and intermingle, people are often exposed to however, whether the policies and promises generated by Unfortunately, the issue of AMR is starting to become a different bacteria, increasing the potential for a drug resis- these meetings will work to effectively stop AMR. reality at the domestic level. On August 2016, the Washoe tance gene to spread and for one superbug to develop resis- Pushing for more research and development in the County Health District in Nevada received a patient who tance to multiple classes of antibiotics.