HOUSECLEANING NEEDED AT HEALTH CANADA

Leaked files, shredded documents, upset scientists, allegations of
serious health risks - if you think you've heard this story before,
you're right.

The controversy unfolding in Ottawa over bovine growth hormone, a drug
which boosts milk production in cows, is eerily reminiscent of the
tainted blood scandal, the dispute over Meme breast implants, the
uproar over toxic mussels.

The subjects may change. But the underlying problems at Health Canada
never seem to get resolved.

To a certain extent, controversy goes with the territory. A
bureaucracy that regulates food and drugs is bound to be caught
between manufacturers who want to get their products on the market as
quickly as possible and scientists who want to check out every
possible risk to public safety.

But the problems at Ottawa's Health Protection Branch go beyond this
natural tension. Its budget has been slashed in the last decade. In
many cases, its scientists do little more than check the clinical
tests done by the pharmaceutical companies. They are demoralized.
Their bosses are defensive. In this atmosphere, a scientific
disagreement can easily escalate into a pitched battle.

The challenge for Health Minister Allan Rock is to figure out where
the bureaucratic infighting ends and the serious shortcomings begin.

In the case of bovine growth hormone, the jury is still out. Federal
scientists have been reviewing the drug for nine years. They still
haven't approved its use, unlike their counterparts at the Food and
Drug Administration in Washington. The manufacturer, Monsanto Inc.,
obviously is not happy.

The scientists claim their safety concerns are being stifled and their
records are being shredded.

A Senate committee is investigating the whole mess. Rock has promised
the scientists that they will not face reprisals for speaking out. His
deputy, David Dodge has taken personal responsibility for getting to
the bottom of the allegations of document-shredding and intimidation
of researchers.

This will not settle the scientific disagreement about the safety of
the drug. But it will separate it from the stormy politics of the
bureaucracy.

The larger task for the health minister is to find out why the Health
Protection Branch is so troubled and secretive and do something about
it.

Rock acknowledges that the problem is real. His own aides have trouble
getting straight answers out of departmental officials. He can see the
damage that the funding cuts have done.

But fixing things will require money - which he does not have - and a
clear plan, which he has yet to produce.

The minister has appointed a team of scientific advisers, headed by
astronaut Roberta Bondar, to investigate the technical adequacy of all
of his department's health protection programs. His officials have
just completed a series of cross-country consultations to find out
what changes Canadians want in the Health Protection Branch. And he
has re-instated a dozen food research projects cut by his
predecessor.

It's a start. But the department needs a thorough housecleaning and a
budget that matches its responsibilities. It's been cutting corners
and hiding problems for too long.

Checked-by: Patrick Henry