The most senior officials of Health Canada last week scrambled to defend the department’s handling of the dairy growth hormone issue as new allegations of impropriety came to light.
“You are right that these allegations of a very serious nature do cast a cloud over the department, not only in the confidence of Canadians but they cast a cloud over everyone who works in the department and goes about doing their job in an excellent way,” deputy health minister David Dodge told the Senate agriculture committee Oct. 29.
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It was a week in which:
- The federal information commissioner’s office launched an investigation into allegations that Health Canada employees have been destroying documents relating to bovine somatotropin, a growth hormone given to boost milk output in dairy cows.
- A memo leaked from inside the health department revealed extensive attempts to manage the growing controversy, including creation of an “issues management committee,” which meets up to four times per week and the hiring of Toronto consultants Mindszenthy and Roberts to develop a “risk communications” strategy.
- The same memo revealed that Monsanto lawyers from St. Louis, Missouri, have complained to Health Canada about leaks of potentially confidential company information. “All this raises questions about whether Health Canada should, and should be seen to, investigate the leaks.”
- The National Farmers Union and the Council of Canadians went before the Senate agriculture committee to urge that BST not be approved.
In the House of Commons, health minister Allan Rock came under renewed pressure from Reform, NDP and Progressive Conservative MPs to call an investigation into the way Health Canada studies and approves drugs.
Departmental scientists have testified they felt pressured to approve the Monsanto product despite doubts about the safety and implications of BST for humans and cows. They told tales of threats, secrecy and theft of files within the department.
Rock said he takes the allegation of document destruction seriously.
But he insisted there is no evidence of undue influence by Monsanto over the BST review, which has been ongoing for close to nine years.
“It has not been approved,” said Rock. “BST will not be approved for use in this country unless and until we are satisfied that it is safe and appropriate for use in Canada.”
At the Senate committee, which has been the focus of the BST controversy, representatives from a committee of doctors and a committee of veterinarians commissioned to study the drug said they will be reporting later this year.
Health Canada flew in a BST expert from Australia on short notice to testify that 10 years of international study have not produced any evidence the drug is not safe.
“I am not here to champion the cause of BST,” said Stuart McLean, dean of applied science at Swinburne University of Technology in Hawthorne. “I am interested in human safety. In my opinion, there are no outstanding safety issues.”
Some senators remained skeptical, wondering why Health Canada would spend so much to buy a short-notice ticket from Australia if it was not orchestrating a “damage control” effort.
