Statement on Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences Sector Task Force Report

Vital welcomes the release of the Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences Sector Task Force's report and its recognition that strengthening Canada's pharmaceutical sector will require coordinated action across the full life sciences ecosystem.

We appreciated the opportunity to engage directly with the Task Force co-chairs and provide recommendations from a pharmaceutical supply chain perspective. We are encouraged to see the report's emphasis on pharmaceutical sovereignty, supply chain resilience, regulatory modernization, strategic procurement, and stronger collaboration between governments and industry. These priorities are essential to improving Canada's competitiveness while ensuring patients continue to have timely, reliable access to the medicines they need.

As implementation moves forward, it will be important to recognize that patient access ultimately depends on the resilience of the pharmaceutical supply chain to provide safe, reliable, and timely physical access to medicines, regardless of whether they are produced domestically or imported. Pharmaceutical resilience extends beyond research, development, and manufacturing—it also depends on the infrastructure that ensures medicines are stored, managed, and distributed safely and reliably to patients across Canada.

Canada's pharmaceutical distributors connect manufacturers with more than 12,000 pharmacies, hospitals, clinics, and other points of care nationwide. This network supports patients in urban, rural, remote, and northern communities while providing critical capacity during drug shortages, public health emergencies, and other disruptions. A resilient distribution network is an essential component of Canada's health security and pharmaceutical sovereignty.

Vital looks forward to working with governments and sector partners to help implement the Task Force's recommendations and ensure Canada's pharmaceutical distribution network is recognized as critical national infrastructure. By strengthening every link in the pharmaceutical supply chain—from manufacturing through to delivery—we can build a more resilient healthcare system, strengthen Canada's life sciences sector, and ensure Canadians have reliable access to the medicines they depend on.