I have just read the CMAJ editorial by Barbara Sibbald in which she concludes that the agricultural industry is primarily responsible for the superbug phenomenon.1 Not being an expert on this issue, I will avoid generalizations on responsibility; however, I encourage CMAJ readers to look up reviews on the subject as well as presentations given at a 2011 forum on this issue.2
I would like to correct Sibbald’s statement that only the province of Quebec has taken a legal stand on antimicrobial use in the agricultural industry. In Newfoundland and Labrador, selling directly to a consumer an antibiotic for animal use that is for injection or for oral, intramammary or intrauterine administration is illegal without a prescription from a veterinarian. The sole exemption is if the antibiotic is used in conformity with the federal Feeds Act.3
I presume that the intent of the editorial was to generate debate; I’m sure it will.