Good morning. Even after life-saving drug treatments pass Health Canada\u2019s regulatory tests, getting them publicly reimbursed takes longer than any other G7 country. More on that below, along with a Royal eviction and haunting houses. But first: <\/p>\n
Today\u2019s headlinesOpen this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n Jasmin Velic, who suffers from a type of cancer called multiple myeloma, chats with his wife, Tanja, during his weekly chemotherapy session at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto.EDUARDO LIMA\/The Globe and Mail<\/p>\n HealthWhy Canadians wait years for drugs already deemed safe<\/p>\n Hi, it\u2019s Chris Hannay, and I write about the business of health care. I\u2019ve been working closely alongside my colleague Kelly Grant, The Globe\u2019s health reporter, on a story that should matter to all Canadians. <\/p>\n Canada has long had a reputation for being a place where it takes a long time for patients to get access to new medication. Pharmaceutical companies say that it is a lot easier to jump through the various regulatory and funding hoops in other countries than it is in Canada. <\/p>\n In fact, the main industry lobby group \u2013 Innovative Medicines Canada \u2013 even has a snappy slogan: \u201cTwo years is too long.\u201d They\u2019re referring to the fact that it takes two years or more for public health insurance plans to agree to cover a new drug after Health Canada says it is safe for patients.<\/p>\n And, to be fair, it\u2019s not only drug companies that have concerns. Many doctors and patients have also decried the long timelines, especially when it comes to drugs to treat cancer, where there are constantly new innovations coming out and time is of the essence. This is true even though oncology drugs often move through the system faster than medications for other diseases.<\/p>\n This is the way it was for years. And then, last summer, Ontario Premier Doug Ford started asking his counterparts in other provinces to consider speeding things up. <\/p>\n By May of 2025, no other provinces wanted to join Ontario\u2019s effort to do that, so it said it would go it alone. On Oct. 7, the province said it would offer a faster route to public coverage for certain cancer drugs that are part of an international initiative called Project Orbis.<\/p>\n Also this year, Prime Minister Mark Carney promised in the April election platform that his government would address drug approval timelines if elected.<\/p>\n In the backdrop of all this, my colleague Kelly and I had been watching. <\/p>\n Kelly covers health news and has written extensively about drug access over the years. I write about the business of health and have been keenly interested in the pharmaceutical industry this year, where all sorts of changes and disruptions have been going on.<\/p>\n We talked back in May and decided the time was ripe to question the conventional wisdom: Do drugs take abnormally long to be publicly funded in Canada? If they do, whose fault is it? And what can be done about it? <\/p>\n Over the summer and into the early fall, we set to work to answer those questions. We spoke to more than three dozen people who work in the system: drug companies, regulators, patients, doctors, politicians, academics and more. <\/p>\n What emerged was a story that explains a more complicated picture than the conventional wisdom described.<\/a> <\/p>\n Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n Lab technician Sasha Gaye Phillips prepares to draw Jas Velic’s blood before his weekly chemotherapy session.EDUARDO LIMA\/The Globe and Mail<\/p>\n Yes, Canada does take longer than many other developed countries to approve new drugs. Yes, that could be hurting some patients, particularly those waiting for cutting-edge therapies. We get into the mechanics of how complicated it is, in the full story. <\/p>\n But the system does other things well, too. It controls costs, even as expensive new drugs are putting increasing pressure on other health care budgets. And while regulators acknowledge they have work to do, the industry could do more, too. <\/p>\n One recent study<\/a> found there are months of delays in the system that are owing to drug companies not filing applications sooner. Some prices are so high \u2013 in the hundreds of thousands of dollars \u2013 that health plans may just not be able to afford them. <\/p>\n This might be the moment where positive change can happen, though. We hope so. Because there are a lot of patients who are hanging in the balance. <\/p>\n As Tanja Velic, whose 43-year-old husband, Jas, is being treated for a type of cancer called multiple myeloma and is waiting for a drug to be approved, told us: \u201cIt\u2019s just so disappointing to know that there is something available and proven to work and people across the world are getting it, but because of where we live, we\u2019re not able to access it.\u201d<\/p>\n The Shot\u2018Comes the moment, comes the man.\u2019Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Trey Yesavage hugs Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (27) in the dugout during the seventh inning in Game 5 of the World Series Oct. 29, in Los Angeles.Ashley Landis\/The Associated Press<\/p>\n Vladimir Guerrero Jr.\u2019s transformative playoff run gives him superstar status. Doubted by his own team\u2019s president just a year ago, he\u2019s now considered one of the greats, writes Cathal Kelly<\/a>. <\/p>\n Plus, get in your feels ahead of today\u2019s game. Blue Jays\u2019 family members are showing that there certainly is crying in baseball<\/a>.<\/p>\n The WrapWhat else we\u2019re following<\/p>\n At home: Alberta students walked out of class in protest of the government\u2019s decision to send teachers back to work.<\/a><\/p>\n Abroad: The rumble of large machinery echoed through communities across the northern Caribbean as Haiti, Jamaica and Cuba pick up the pieces<\/a> in the wake of Hurricane Melissa.<\/p>\n At home and abroad: Carney to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping as he seeks to offset damage<\/a> from U.S. tariffs.<\/p>\n Evict: King Charles strips his brother Andrew of his titles<\/a> and forces him out of his lodgings in Windsor, seeking to distance the Royal Family from his links to the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.<\/p>\n