canada health scientists

DRUGS SAFETY WHISTLEBLOWERS IN CANADA

Shiv Chopra and the Health Canada Scientists

Freedom to care has received the following information from a media contact in Canada. The scientists involved are not on gag order as of September 2000.

More information may possibly be found at the following web sites:

Democracy Watch: http://www.dwatch.ca

Council of Canadians: http://www.canadians.org

PIPSC: http://www.pipsc.com

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Background

by Richard Wolfson, Ph.D.

In 1998 and 1999, Dr. Shiv Chopra and other scientists at Health Canada testified to the Senate Standing Committee on Agriculture and Forestry that they had been pressured by senior administrators at Health Canada to approve drugs of questionable safety, including bovine growth hormone. Following his testimony, Dr. Chopra was suspended from his job at Health Canada for five days without pay.

On Dec. 7, 1999, at the Senate Standing Committee on Privileges, Standing Rules and Orders, Dr. Chopra testified that his suspension was a retaliatory action related to his previous appearances before the Senate Standing Committee on Agriculture and Forestry. The Committee on Privileges, Standing Rules and Orders then sent out letters to other Health Canada scientists asking them whether they were aware of retaliatory action against Dr. Chopra or other scientists, with the intention to subsequently call these scientists to testify before the committee.

Meanwhile, Mr. David Dodge, the Deputy Minister of Health, wrote to the same Senate Committee and said that due to the seriousness of these charges of retaliation, Health Canada is employing a law firm to do its own internal investigation of the situation, with the possibility of disciplinary proceedings without saying against whom. Mr. Dodge asked for a postponement of the Senate Committee's investigation until after the internal investigation by Health Canada's lawyer.

The action by Mr. Dodge appears to be damage control, to try to save the reputation of his own managers, who may be in violation of Dr. Chopra's rights as a parliamentary witness, which the Senate committee may regard as contempt of Parliament.

The Senate Committee wrote back to Mr. Dodge asking for reassurance that if the department conducts its own investigation of the charges made by Dr. Chopra, there must be no further retaliation against him or other Health Canada scientists who provide further evidence for the investigation. The Senate Committee also requested that it be able to call Mr. George Hunter, the lawyer employed by Health Canada for its investigation, as a witness in the Committee's investigation and that Mr. Hunter be free to answer all questions without invoking solicitor-client privileges to withhold information. The Senate Committee also sent to Mr. Dodge passages from the parliamentary Bill of Rights (dated back to 1867) ensuring parliamentary witnesses freedom of speech without reprisal.

At the same time, the lawyer for Dr. Chopra and the Health Canada scientists wrote to Mr. George Hunter saying that the scientists will not agree to cooperate in these investigations by a lawyer who is paid by the accused department to only investigate a small range of information presented at the Dec. 7, 1999 meeting of the Senate Committee, without investigating the broader context of the concerns and allegations by the Health Canada scientists. A second letter that was sent to Mr. Dodge on behalf of the Health Canada scientists indicated that the scientists would agree to a publicly held judicial inquiry that fully investigates their allegations and is conducted under the authority of a mutually acceptable adjudicator.

Update on Health Canada Scientists

April 20, 2000

You may recall that the Standing Senate Committee on Privileges, Standing Rules and Orders was investigating whether Health Canada committed Contempt of Parliament by retaliating against its own scientists (in the Human Safety Division of the Bureau of Veterinary Drugs (BVD)) for testifying before another Senate committee.

These scientists had previously testified before the Senate Agriculture Committee that they were being pressured and harassed to approve drugs and other products of questionable safety (including genetically engineered bovine growth hormone, or rBGH). Following their testimony before the Agriculture Committee, one of the scientists, Dr. Shiv Chopra, was suspended without pay for 5 days.

Other scientists told the Senate Committees that they were denied promotions, threatened, and harassed. In addition, they reported that less qualified individuals were being parachuted in from other departments, rather than appointing more qualified scientists in the department. One of the people mentioned as being parachuted in was Kelly Butler, who was brought in as Chief of the Human Safety Division of the Bureau of Veterinary Drugs. (Following the Senate meeting, Kelly Butler left the department.)

On Tuesday Feb. 29, 2000 the Senate Committee (on Privileges, Standing Rules and Orders) questioned David Dodge, Deputy Minister of Health. On the subject of Dr. Chopra's suspension, Mr. Dodge referred the Senate committee to Andre Lachance, the Director of the Bureau of Veterinary Drugs. Mr. Dodge said that Dr. Lachance ordered the suspension of Dr. Chopra. The Committee then asked Dr. Lachance to appear before them, and the meeting was scheduled for March 29.

A few days after the Feb. 28 meeting, one of the clerks in the department was caught putting government documents on microfiche through a paper shredder. This incident is only the last of a series of incidents of document destruction. It appears that the government is destroying the documents because it is worried about anyone finding out about drugs of questionable safety that were approved or are still being pushed through the approval process.

This appears to be the same reason that the government is hesitant to promote one of the scientists to a senior position. If they were in a senior position, the scientists could expose the questionable drugs that have been approved. One of these drugs is Revlor-H, a hormone injected into cattle to increase weight. Previous research shows that the drug caused deformities in the ovaries, uterus, and prostate of the cows, and also damaged the thymus, which controls the immune system. The drug was not approved in Europe, also because it is linked to cancer. In Canada, Revlor-H was approved even though the Canadian scientists recommended it not be approved.

In any case, following the document shredding incident, Dr. Lachance disappeared from the department. A few days later, his lawyer sent a letter to the department saying that Dr. Lachance was on sick leave until at least June 1, and unable to attend Senate hearings or other meetings. This leave is clearly a tactic to prevent Dr. Lachance from testifying before the Senate, as his testimony could be quite embarrassing to Health Canada.

For instance, Health Canada insisted that Dr. Chopra was suspended because he spoke at a Heritage Canada meeting without approval from Health Canada, and because of allegations that Dr. Chopra spoke critically of Health Canada, alleging racism in the department. In fact, Dr. Chopra spoke on his own time and he did not represent Health Canada.

In addition, Health Canada administrators said that the decision to suspend Dr. Chopra was on the basis of an audio tape copy of Dr. Chopra's talk that they obtained from Heritage Canada. However, it is not known whether Heritage Canada supplied an audio tape or any other materials to Health Canada.

In addition, other scientists support the claims that Dr. Chopra was being unduly harassed because of his earlier testimony to the Senate Agriculture Committee. So there are clear holes in the decision to suspend Dr. Chopra, which could have been investigated by questioning Dr. Lachance.

After Dr. Lachance went on leave, the department replaced him (as Director of the Bureau of Veterinary Drugs) by Dr. John Dueck, indicating that Dr. Lachance would not be returning to the department. Dr. Dueck is a plant pathologist/physiologist from AgCanada, without experience in veterinary medicine or any related science.

Incidentally, Dr. Paterson, the former Director General of the Food Directorate recently retired. (The new Director-General of the Food Directorate, Marc Le Maguer, an engineer parachuted in from the University of Guelph, has already stirred up controversy by publicly attacking Dr. Ann Clark, Associate Professor of Crop Science at the University of Guelph, after she questioned the safety of GMOs). The Assistant Deputy Minister of the Health Protection Branch (Joe Losos) will be leaving in May, being replaced by Diane Gorman, who is without a science background. Therefore virtually all the people involved with Dr. Chopra's suspension have left the department.

In further events, on April 13, 2000 the Senate Committee on (on Privileges, Standing Rules and Orders) announced that it did not have enough evidence to conclude whether Health Canada was in Contempt of Parliament by suspending Dr. Chopra, and the Committee indicated it would be ending its investigation. However, the Committee did add that this did not mean that there was no evidence, and stated that the situation in the department was "deplorable."

Another recent development is that the Deputy Minister of Health has announced that the entire Health Protection Branch of Health Canada (which the Bureau of Veterinary Drugs is embedded in) is being dissolved and replaced by another structure. The following press release by the National Farmers Union giveS further insights on these developments. These and other groups are urging the Senate Committee to continue its investigation of the suspension of Dr. Chopra.

Senate Investigation of Health Canada

Has Health Canada Committed Contempt of Parliament?

Senate Hearings (Committee on Privileges, Standing Rules and Orders)

Date: Tuesday Feb 29,2000 6:00 pm

Witness: David Dodge, Deputy Minister of Health

Location: Rm 505, Victoria Bldg, 140 Wellington Street

Background

The Senate Committee on Privileges, Standing Rules and Orders is investigating claims that Health Canada has retaliated against its own scientists, who previously testified before the Senate and provided incriminating evidence against the department.

One scientist, Dr. Shiv Chopra, was suspended for 5 days without pay. Other scientists reported that they were pressured to "sanitize" government reports and coerced to pass drugs of questionable safety.

The scientists state they were ordered to "tow the line" and serve industry or they would be sent somewhere they "will never be heard from again." The scientists are concerned that public safety is at risk.

On Tuesday, Feb. 29, the Senate Committee on Privileges, Standing Rules and Orders will be questioning David Dodge, Deputy Minister of Health, on these issues. Hearings are open to the public.

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