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Alberta paid more than 6 times usual price for pain medications in $70-million import deal

Alberta purchased children’s pain medication from Turkey at a price more than six times greater than what the provincial health authority normally pays for the same volume of product, according to documents obtained by The Globe and Mail.

The Alberta government explained in 2022 that the manufacturer required a minimum order of five million bottles - or $70-million worth of drugs - to get the deal done. But a briefing note, obtained by The Globe, indicates the health authority could have reduced its total bill by ordering less medicine, albeit at a higher price per bottle.

5 million bottles equated to roughly eight bottles for every child in the province.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/alberta/article-alberta-turkish-pain-medication-deal-prices/

The United States and Canada have the most expensive elevators in the world. Prices charged in North America are at least three times those charged by the same manufacturers in comparable mid-rise buildings in high-income countries in Western Europe.

As a result, the U.S. and Canada have fewer elevators per capita than any other high-income country for which data could be found

Unique North American elevator standards have led to no discernible improvement in safety outcomes compared to those in Europe.

https://admin.centerforbuilding.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Elevatorsexecutivesummary.pdf

The United States and Canada have the most expensive elevators in the world. Prices charged in North America are at least three times those charged by the same manufacturers in comparable mid-rise buildings in high-income countries in Western Europe.

As a result, the U.S. and Canada have fewer elevators per capita than any other high-income country for which data could be found

Unique North American elevator standards have led to no discernible improvement in safety outcomes compared to those in Europe.

https://admin.centerforbuilding.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Elevatorsexecutivesummary.pdf

Now the bad news

Senator Josh Becker, who represents Palo Alto, Menlo Park and Mountain View, is a major opponent of the bill. While he voted to advance the bill, he emphasized in an interview that his support hinges on significant changes that would need to be made.

Senator Becker said if this were the final vote, he would not have supported SB 79. “I was clear to the team that I will not vote on this bill on the way back unless the radius has changed” he said.

The bill also proved divisive in Palo Alto, where City Council member Pat Burt described the prior version of the bill as a “one-size-fits-all” proposal that takes the “chainsaw to local zoning.

“We’re talking about 55 feet and 5 stories by right without any parking requirements in an Eichler neighborhood” Burt said at an April meeting, referring to Eichler neighborhoods in Palo Alto that are within half a mile of the San Antonio Caltrain station.

https://www.paloaltoonline.com/housing/2025/06/11/despite-advancing-fate-of-housing-bill-sb-79-remains-uncertain/