Media Advisory - CFIB tells Canada's Health Ministers: "Don't follow Ontario
in bashing independent pharmacies"

TORONTO, April 29 /CNW/ - The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) has issued an open letter today to all provincial and territorial ministers of health responding to Ontario's latest attack on independent pharmacists.

Citing Ontario Health Minister Deb Matthews' letter urging her counterparts to follow her lead in making similar changes to their own prescription drug systems, CFIB challenged the Minister's on-going efforts to tarnish these dedicated health professionals.

"This unprecedented attack on the livelihood of Ontarians who operate independent, family-owned pharmacies is certainly not a strategy that you should be emulating," wrote CFIB president Catherine Swift. "In the end, it will make it impossible for independent pharmacists to provide the excellent level of service that all Ontarians have come to expect from them, and that all governments across Canada relied upon so heavily to combat the H1N1 outbreak last year."

While CFIB awaits for Minister Matthews' response to our call to return to the bargaining table and work with Ontario's pharmacists on a strategy that respects the public purse and patient care, Swift sought assurances from other provinces that they will not follow Ontario's current approach to finding that balance.

Obtain a copy of Swift's open letter at www.cfib.ca

For further information: To arrange an interview with Catherine Swift, please call Meghan Carrington or Adam Miller at [phone] or send a request via email to [email protected]