CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — Spending $130,000 on radio ads for drugs while a mother of three is left fighting for her life shows how out of touch the province is with health care, says an Opposition MLA.
Souris-Elmira MLA Colin LaVie raised the issue of Valleyfield resident Melanie Fraser during Tuesday’s question period and blasted the province for not covering the cancer drug Vectibix.
“What value do we put on a life?” asked LaVie, who also tabled a Facebook post Fraser had made describing her battle to obtain the expensive treatment. “How could anyone afford a drug for $6,000? What kind of a message are we sending to Islanders?
“This just shows how out of touch this government is. You spend $130,000 on radio ads to promote your drugs, this mother of three is bravely fighting for her life … over $6,000 and that’s not right.”
Health Minister Robert Mitchell said he would commit to chatting with Fraser.
While the province will invest $1.3 million to $1.5 million in its formulary this year, Mitchell said the drugs that go on the formulary are decided by a Provincial Drugs and Therapeutics Committee.
“Vectibix will probably be one that they will be looking at,” said Mitchell, who added he was committed to working with any Islanders needing health-care services. “I receive calls every day of similar natures and I take it to heart. And I try to do the absolute best I can do as minister of health to ensure that Islanders are receiving the best quality health care they can.”
Fraser said while the exchange during question period didn’t provide her with any answers, she noted the province later reached out to her. She said she plans to meet with Mitchell in the near future.
