As Canada faces a shortage of children's pain medication, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre is calling for an emergency debate on the issue. .“For months, hard working moms and dads across Canada have been forced to watch as their children suffer in pain because Justin Trudeau’s Liberals have failed to act on the national shortage of children’s pain medication," Poilievre said in a press release on Thursday..Poilievre said "desperate" parents now have to choose between taking their sick children to overcrowded emergency rooms, or crossing the border to the United States, where there is no shortage of medicines.."American shelves are stocked. Canadian shelves are empty. The reality is this has been an issue since the early days of summer," he said..Poilievre said in August 2022, Health Canada publicly acknowledged the crisis and claimed it was working to solve it. ."Since earlier this year, supplies of various formats of non-prescription pediatric/infant and children’s acetaminophen and ibuprofen products have been limited in retail and pharmacy locations and hospitals across Canada," Health Canada said in a statement. "This shortage is due to unprecedented demand.".In August, Health Canada publicly acknowledged the crisis and claimed it was working to resolve it. And on October 5, Conservative MPs wrote a letter to Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos, who claimed to be working on the problem. But the issue persisted..“As all moms and dads know, having a young child with a fever is a serious issue. But instead of offering help or working to find real solutions, Justin Trudeau’s Liberals ignored these scared and desperate moms and dads," Poilievre said..On Wednesday, Poilievre called for an emergency debate on the shortage of children’s pain medicine, but it was shut down. ."We will make sure Justin Trudeau’s Liberals understand the realities facing families, and answer to the parents who live in fear of the coming RSV and flu season.".During Question Period Wednesday, Poilievre slammed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for not making progress on resolving the issue.."The prime minister had a month since he was warned about this problem, he said he would fix the supply chain issues in our medical system, why hasn't he solved this problem?" he asked..Trudeau responded that Health Canada is currently taking concrete action to accelerate the flow of pain medication for children.."We're working closely with provinces and territories as they work to resupply as well," Trudeau said.."We know this is something that's part of the global disruptions of climate change and the pandemic, which is why we're continuing to work with partners to ensure we can get parents the things they need to take care of their kids."
