Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has announced that 250,000 bottles of children’s medication are arriving in the province this weekend for use by Alberta Health Services.
The province was hoping the bottles would be on the shelves earlier, but the process was delayed by Health Canada as it ensured the five million units of children’s pain and fever medication was consistent with national standards.
“The good news is that our Alberta Health Services hospitals will have the first shipment by this weekend,” Smith said in a press conference on Tuesday.
Amid national shortages of children’s Tylenol and Advil last year, Smith and Health Minister Jason Copping announced in December they secured five million units of acetaminophen and ibuprofen from a manufacturer in Turkey. The government said there was no exact timeline for when the medicine would arrive, but that it would be in a matter of weeks.
The federal regulatory body slowed the process, as it examined the manufacturer, Alberta’s import facilities, and ensured the formula was the same as existing Canadian products. It also had to approve French and English packaging before signing off on approval.
Smith said the remaining 4.75 million bottles will be for retail use at a later date. Those shipments are subject to additional delays because the bottles require a childproof cap.
“We are working on making sure that that approval process is taking place,” she said.
The premier also announced that her government plans to put $600 million into Alberta’s health care system per year in 2024 and 2025, whether or not the federal government makes changes to funding transfers.
“I can’t stop doing reform because the federal government doesn’t want to partner with us,” she said.
In late November, one million units of children’s acetaminophen and ibuprofen arrived in Canada. That shipment was followed by an additional 500,000 units of children’s pain and fever medications as a surge in viral illness caused nationwide shortages.
At the time, federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said a significant rise in demand was to blame for the shortages. He said the normal demand for children’s pain and fever medications is about 300,000 to 400,000 units per year.
In November alone, the company that manufactures children’s Advil in Canada, Haleon, produced 1.1 million units of the product for the Canadian market.
