Ontario drug reform gets ugly

The first salvos in the battle between the Ontario government and the pharmacy industry featured heated rhetoric and reduced store hours in the health minister’s riding. This week, both sides took to the airwaves in a PR offensive. Now, Helen Stevenson—who is leading the province’s generic drug reform efforts—is on the receiving end of death threats and other harassment.

According to the Star, Stevenson is no stranger to intimidation on the drug portfolio. She first began receiving threats in 2006 when the McGuinty government initiated its first cost-control measures, which consisted of the professional allowances that are at the heart of the current reform effort. Threatening phone calls and a remark allegedly made by a pharmacist at an industry event to “chop her head off” were noted but not followed up by police.

She now travels with a police security detail.

Pharmacy industry representatives insist there is no link to the industry.

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