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Regulating Prescription Drugs For Patient Safety: Does Bill C-17 Go Far Enough?, Matthew Herder, Elaine Gibson, Janice Graham, Joel Lexchin, Barbara Mintzes

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Canada was the last developed country in the world to remove thalidomide from the market, and doing so required an Act of Parliament. At the request of Health Canada’s then Food and Drug Directorate, thalidomide’s two manufacturers voluntarily withdrew the drug from the market on Mar. 2, 1962. However, most of the drug’s distribution was in the form of free samples to medical professionals, which the directorate had no legal authority to control. Therefore, to avoid similar situations in the future and to stop sales of thalidomide, on Dec. 4, 1962, the Parliament of Canada amended the Food and Drugs …