Jason Kenney and Doug Ford cheer at an anti-carbon tax rally in Calgary in 2018. Kenney says he may use legislation to break Alberta's oil-by-rail contracts without penalties; Ford has introduced legislation to break Ontario's contract with the Beer Store chain without paying penalties.Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press
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Beyond biosimilar there is biobetter
Re B.C. To Force Patients To Switch To Less Costly Medications (May 28): It is a misconception, often promoted by pharma, that biosimilars are imperfect copies of original drugs that patients must be forced to endure.
The fact is that all biologics are imperfect attempts to correct defective cells with the best knowledge we have, and original drugs are often based on decades-old technology and biology. Attempts to make “perfect” copies of existing biologics are grounded in the misconception that old technology and medicines should be slavishly copied, even in the presence of much better technologies and better understanding of diseases.
At the University of Toronto’s Recombinant Antibody Centre, we have been pushing to establish a larger role for Canada in the development of biobetters that work better than old biologics – and most new biologics – and that can provide treatments that simply do not exist. Europe has led the way in biosimilars, and there should be no controversy for Canada’s adapting a successful model than can save lives and money.
What Canada needs to focus on is supporting next-generation drug development at home, which continues to be an area where we lag far behind other nations, with no clear government strategy in sight.
Sachdev Sidhu, Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research, University of Toronto
Redemption?
Re Looking Past October? (letter, May 28): The editor of the McGill Journal of Political Studies muses about the possible motives Jane Philpott and Jody Wilson-Raybould might have had for eschewing political parties and running instead as independents this fall.
She wonders if these two ex-Liberal cabinet ministers are “gambling on the increasingly realistic scenario of a Liberal loss in October, and subsequent leadership race.” I think Lucretia Borgia would have a better chance of winning Liberals over. You can’t poison the well and expect folks to drink to your good fortune.
Ken DeLuca, Arnprior, Ont.
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Having failed to properly respect the constitutional conventions on the role of the attorney-general (arguably because of bad advice from a clerk of the privy council, who appears not to have understood them), the Prime Minister has a rare chance for a re-do. He can move a long way toward this by welcoming the decisions of Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott to run as independents, stating that the Liberal Party should not field candidates against them, and making it clear that he hopes to hear their powerful voices in Parliament, as allies where their views align, and as sources of valuable ideas where they do not. Opportunities for redemption are rare: The Prime Minister should not miss this one.
Doug Ewart, Toronto
Conservatives and contracts
What has become of our conservative governments in Canada?
The announcement by Doug Ford’s Ontario government that it will use legislation to scrap a deal with the Beer Store chain comes in the wake of Alberta Premier Jason Kenney’s threats to change the law to cancel oil-shipping contracts with CN and CP (Ford Takes On Beer Industry With Bill That Paves Way For Corner-Store Sales – May 28; Kenney Says Alberta Will Shift Oil-By-Rail Contracts – May 25).
Changing the law to cancel binding contracts is the sort of thing a banana republic does, not a province of Canada – let alone a province run by purportedly business-friendly conservatives. How can private enterprise engage in commerce if it is never really sure that a deal is a deal? This legislation makes a mockery of the Ford government’s “Open for Business” slogan.
Ian Stephenson, Oakville, Ont.
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The Ontario government’s legislation to terminate the 10-year contract with Brewers Retail insulates the government from any claim for breach of contract due to the agreement’s cancellation. This sends a terrible message.
Imagine the government, having signed a 10-year lease for office space, decided to abandon the space and pass legislation preventing the landlord from suing for damages. Or, if the government stopped making debt payments and prevented its lenders from pursuing legal recourse. Such action would undermine our confidence that the government will live up to its word, even where contracts are signed and investments are made based on those agreements.
Businesses understand that government policies change. Tax breaks and incentives may disappear after a change of government. But a contract is a contract, or should be. The government is free to breach its contracts if it so decides, but should take responsibility for paying the ensuing damages. It should not, however, simply legislate away its contractual liabilities.
Notably, the government issued a call yesterday for proposals to redevelop Ontario Place. The request states that the Budweiser Stage must be retained due to an existing lease. I guess there are some beer-related contracts the government will respect after all.
Alex Colangelo, lawyer, Toronto
Motto mojo
Re Ford Cancels Retroactive Municipality Cuts (May 28): So the Doug Ford Conservatives have backtracked (for this year anyway) on massive cuts.
Could this be because they have discovered the folly of their party motto: Ready, Fire, Aim.
Ian Thompson, Peterborough, Ont.
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Doug Ford insists Ontario municipalities can be more efficient; indeed, he expects that they can save four cents on the dollar without affecting front-line services.
Regrettably, however, the easiest way for municipalities to save money is cut back on budgeted deferred maintenance programs. Punting repairs means saving money today without service cuts. Prudent homeowners know that not committing to regular maintenance will result in big future expenses. Sadly, the politicians who cut back on deferred maintenance will not be around to account for what they have done. That includes Premier Ford.
Peter Woolstencroft, Department of Political Science, University of Waterloo
Natural wonder, trashed
Re Mount Everest Cannot Become An Amusement Park (May 28): I had to laugh at the photo of the hundreds of brightly clad climbers queued up on Mount Everest. They call that an adventure? I’ve had pretty much the same experience lining up in September at IKEA to buy a student bed for my daughter. Minus the oxygen, of course.
Here’s a suggestion for all the Type A, future inspirational speakers out there: Instead of trashing one of the Earth’s natural wonders, zip on a snowsuit and jump on a stairclimber. About 58,000 steps later, you can say you “climbed Everest.” Then you can donate the $50,000 you would have blown on the trip to cleaning up the mountain.
Paul Benedetti, Hamilton