The National Emergency Strategic Stockpile consists of medical assets managed by the Public Health Agency of Canada.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
Health Canada says more than $20-million worth of pharmaceutical products were lost from the national stockpile this year because of a temperature-control issue, spurring a call from the federal Conservative health critic for a House of Commons investigation.
The department confirmed the incident on Thursday after figures were identified in the public accounts, an annual financial report on government revenues and spending, and reported by The Canadian Press.
In response, Health Canada said in a statement that there were two specific losses documented.
The first involved damage to lab equipment that resulted in its loss, totalling around $1.2-million.
The second involved the loss of pharmaceutical products, such as vaccines, held in the National Emergency Strategic Stockpile. A “temperature deviation” resulted in the loss of product, totalling more than $20-million, the department said.
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Health Canada said the losses will not affect the capacity of the stockpile to respond to public health events. It also said the Public Health Agency of Canada could not disclose details on assets held by the stockpile, including types and volumes, because of national security implications.
PHAC said in a separate statement that a single incident occurred in December, 2024, resulting from temperature fluctuations in some freezer units.
The agency said one volume of a therapeutic drug was lost and that an internal investigation found several factors contributed to fluctuations that resulted in the loss.
Conservative health critic Dan Mazier said a parliamentary committee investigation is needed to find out what led to the loss, which he called “shocking and unacceptable” in a statement.
Guillaume Bertrand, director of communications for Health Minister Marjorie Michel, said the minister is aware of the “technical malfunction” that resulted in “an important loss in pharmaceutical products.”
“While this incident is unfortunate, PHAC is ensuring the NESS is equipped appropriately to fulfill its mission, including protecting critical vaccine supply,” Mr. Bertrand said in a statement.
The minister is working with the agency to ensure incidents like this can be prevented in the future, he added.
PHAC said it has a quality-control system for the national stockpile intended to prevent these incidents, identify them when they occur and implement corrective actions with the goal of preventing reoccurrence.
The National Emergency Strategic Stockpile is a stockpile of medical assets managed by the Public Health Agency of Canada. Provinces and territories can request items during public health emergencies or events when their own resources are depleted or are not immediately available.
The stockpile is comprised of items such as medical equipment and supplies, pharmaceuticals including vaccines and therapeutics, and other supplies including beds and blankets.
Commentary published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal in 2020 said that emergency stockpiles are expensive to maintain and management of expired supplies “generates substantial financial and material waste.”
It argued a better approach could be to integrate the national stockpile with commercial supply through a “prime vendor” who could minimize financial and material waste by selling supplies to health care organizations.