I agree. This story smells of journalists selling a story they manufactured.

Merck spent $9 million. That's rather trivial in relation to the size of the market.  It's less than 30 cents for each Canadian. Do you think your doctor is so easily swayed-by 30 cents?

There are always "stories" of physicians being sent by pharma to the Bahamas for "conferences" (with bikini-clad women), but no one can point to one verifiable example where it actually happened.