New rules adopted by the Manitoba Pharmaceutical Association could force internet pharmacies to leave the province.
 
The association, which licenses pharmacies in the province, has approved a new rule that would prevent pharmacies from filling out-of-province prescriptions starting June 30. Pharmacies that don't comply could have their licences revoked.

Troy Harwood-Jones, with the Manitoba International Pharmacy Association, said that kind of rule is unheard of in other provinces, and in a recent vote, more than 70 per cent of pharmacists voted against it.

The province has assigned a mediator to try to work out the issues between the internet pharmacies and the regulator.

"This is not the nail in the coffin," Harwood-Jones told CBC News on Friday. "There haven't really been any demonstrated problems from the regulator.  Any concerns which they have brought up, they're solvable."

His group is also looking into whether they actually need a provincial licence to operate, Harwood said.

"We haven't broken any rules, and we're pharmacies like any other pharmacy," he said. "If we follow the rules and we conduct our businesses appropriately, ethically and legally, I can't see how the pharmacy regulator could take our licences away."

Harwood-Jones hopes they are able to work out a compromise — but if they can't, he believes many of the 20 internet pharmacies now operating in Manitoba would leave the province.