Conservatives demand probe into Ottawa’s loss of $20M in pharmaceutical products

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OTTAWA — Conservative health critic Dan Mazier said Thursday he intends to ask for a committee investigation to find out how the Public Health Agency of Canada lost more than $20-million worth of pharmaceutical products from the national emergency stockpile.

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The loss was mentioned as a single line item in the 2025 public accounts, the audited financial statements of the federal government for the 2024-25 fiscal year.

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In response to queries from The Canadian Press, a Public Health Agency of Canada spokesperson said in a media statement the loss resulted from what the agency called a “temperature deviation.”

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Late Thursday, the agency responded to further questions, saying there were temperature fluctuations in some freezer units in December 2024, and that an internal investigation found that was the result of “several factors.” It said a volume of one therapeutic drug was lost.

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It did not say what type of therapeutic drug was involved or how much was lost, nor did it cite the factors that contributed to the loss.

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“While the Public Health Agency of Canada cannot disclose any further details concerning assets held by the (stockpile), including types and volumes, due to national security implications, we can confirm that the identified losses will not compromise the (stockpile’s) capacity to respond to public health events,” the agency’s initial statement said.

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The Public Health Agency of Canada said it does have a quality management system in place to prevent and identify such incidents and “implement corrective actions with a view to preventing reoccurence.”

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Mazier said he’s going to call for an investigation into what happened at the House of Commons health committee.

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“Losing $20 million in pharmaceuticals from Canada’s emergency stockpile is shocking and unacceptable, and the fact the Liberals tried to hide this from Canadians is even worse,” Mazier said in a written statement.

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A spokesperson for Health Minister Marjorie Michel said she is aware of a “technical malfunction” at the emergency stockpile.

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“While this incident is unfortunate, PHAC is ensuring the (stockpile) is equipped appropriately to fulfil its mission, including protecting critical vaccine supply. Minister Michel is also working with the agency to ensure such an incident can be prevented in the future,” Guillaume Bertrand said in an email.

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In a statement, interim NDP Leader Don Davies called the loss “clearly irresponsible” and said it points to problems with the Liberal government’s “plan to cut public sector capacity.”

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“This is fiscally inappropriate and jeopardizes public health. We need answers as to how this happened,” Davies said.

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The national stockpile is a network of warehouses across the country where the government stores medical supplies, vaccines and emergency response equipment.