Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall says neither Ottawa nor a key federal scientific agency can stop his province from funding clinical studies of the controversial "liberation treatment" for multiple sclerosis.
"We don't need federal government approval here," Wall told CTV News Channel on Thursday afternoon. "We believe we can move ahead with it."
The so-called liberation treatment is based on the theory that MS is caused by vein blockages that lead to a build-up of iron. The doctor behind the theory says it can be treated with angioplasty -- a simple surgical procedure.
"In a country that has such a high incidence of MS, and in a province that has the highest incidence of MS in that country, we think there is a lot of merit in our government wanting to support medical trials, if the cue is taken from the research community," Wall said.
"We're not changing our position."
The premier's comments come a day after the Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq said Ottawa would not help fund tests of the novel treatment for blocked veins that are being found in some MS patients.
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research concurred, announcing Wednesday that it is not yet ready to fund new studies to test the treatment.
CIHR President Dr. Alain Beaudet told reporters that after reviewing research on the treatment, and after consultation with neurologists, radiologists and other experts, "there was unanimous agreement from the scientific experts that it is premature to support pan-Canadian clinical trials on the proposed 'liberation procedure'."
"There is an overwhelming lack of scientific evidence on the safety and efficacy of the procedure, or even that there is any link between blocked veins and MS," he said.
Without sufficient evidence about the procedure's safety, it would be unethical to study the procedure at this time, he said.
The Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada has similarly been cautious about the new approach, saying a lot more research is needed.
In June, the society and its U.S. counterpart awarded a combined $2.4 million in research grants aimed at investigating Zamboni's theory. Four Canadian universities and three American centres will begin research later this year.
Wall has been less cautious, reiterating that Saskatchewan plans to fund clinical trials of the treatment if the government receives a proposal, and an independent organization endorses that proposal. He said he expects the province will receive a proposal before January.
Not all experts in the province support the idea of conducting clinical trials, however. Dr. Katherine Knox, who leads Saskatoon's MS clinic, said recently that more research is needed before clinical trials are undertaken.
Many Canadian MS patients have been calling for research into the treatment ever since CTV's W5 aired two reports about it last fall.
With no way to receive the procedure at home, some Canadian MS patients have been travelling abroad do so.
Christine Engelhardt, a nurse from Stony Plain, Alta., who has been living with the disease for a decade, visited Costa Rica to undergo the procedure.
"When I first woke up from the anesthesia I could feel my left foot, which I haven't been able to feel for about two years," she said. "I just wish everyone had this opportunity to feel better because we deserve it...we deserve the choice."
With a report from CTV Edmonton's Susan Amerongen and files from The Canadian Press
