MEDIA ADVISORY - OPSEU/SEFPO Calls for Investigation into Secretive Paid Plasma Agreement

Government urged to investigate agreement between Canadian Blood Services and Grifols

TORONTO , Dec. 6, 2022 /CNW/ - Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU/SEFPO) President JP Hornick will be joined by MPP France Gélinas and Kat Lanteigne of BloodWatch.org for a news conference at the Legislative Assembly of Ontario on December 7. They will call for Premier Doug Ford and Minister of Health Sylvia Jones to investigate a secretive agreement between Canadian Blood Services and Grifols - a private, multi-national pharmaceutical manufacturer set to operate a paid plasma collection scheme in Ontario.

What:	News conference
Date:	Wednesday, December 7, 2022
Time:	9:45 a.m.
Location:	Queen's Park media studio – 111 Wellesley Street West, Toronto ON

The private manufacturer has signed an undisclosed, 15-year agreement with Canadian Blood Services, marking the first time that plasma donors would be paid to sell their plasma in a for-profit collection scheme in Ontario.

The agreement between CBS and Grifols could violate the Voluntary Blood Donations Act in Ontario, as it will grant Grifols a monopoly on paid plasma collection and designate the private company as a third-party collector in Ontario. The government should use its statutory powers under the Act to investigate the deal. The Act gives the government oversight over the blood collection system. With this deal, CBS has essentially created a two-tier system for plasma collection in Canada and sold off market access to Canada's donor base to a foreign-owned company, abandoning their duty to collect on behalf of the Canadian public.

A privatized paid plasma scheme violates the Voluntary Blood Donations Act and also goes against recommendations from the Krever Commission, negatively affects voluntary collection efforts and exploits vulnerable populations. 

OPSEU/SEFPO and its allies are calling on the Ford government to investigate the nature of this agreement and to issue an order for CBS to comply with the terms of the Voluntary Blood Donations Act. Canadian Blood Services is a registered charity that receives over $500 million in public funding each year to collect blood and plasma in Ontario.

Representatives will make statements and be available to speak to the media:

• JP Hornick, President of OPSEU/SEFPO
• MPP France Gélinas (Nickel Belt), NDP health critic
• Kat Lanteigne, Executive Director and Co-Founder of BloodWatch.org

SOURCE Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU/SEFPO)

Meg Shannon, OPSEU/SEFPO, 416-700-0886 (cell), [email protected]