WINNIPEG, Manitoba - Large Canadian and American flags hang from the main call center at CanadaDrugs.com, where operators fill between 1,300 and 1,700 prescriptions a day, almost all for customers in the United States.

Business is booming at most mail order and Internet pharmacies in Canada, despite warnings by pharmaceutical companies and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration about the safety of imported drugs.

"We're not hidden in a back room, we're not smacking mosquitos and we're not counting polar bears," said CanadaDrugs.com spokesman Bob Fraser, giving a tour of the 24,000-square feet facility. "We have nothing to hide. We welcome all inspections."

Fraser and his company were preparing this week for a visit today from North Dakota and Minnesota government officials, including North Dakota Lt. Gov. Jack Dalrymple and Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty.

Pawlenty has said he wants to set up a Web site that would list approved Canadian distributors of prescription drugs. Eventually, he hopes to expand his plan with incentives for state employees who use the site.

One purpose of the trip, which includes meetings with Canadian officials, drug wholesalers and pharmacists, is to talk about safety.

Safety standards for mail order and Internet pharmacies in Canada already exceed those in the United States, said David MacKay, executive director of the Canadian International Pharmacy Association.

"This whole premise that our system is not as safe, or it could introduce counterfeits, is a bogus premise," said MacKay, who will host the Americans. "The pharmacies are bona fide licensed pharmacies, fully inspected by the provinces they do business in."

"A lot of the governors know they can seize upon this as a political agenda and are genuinely interested in helping their citizens," MacKay said. "They know that a lot of their citizens are already ordering from Canada, so why not set up a system that helps them as a resource to make an educated decision to purchase safely?"

The North Dakota and Minnesota officials plan to tour CanadaDrugs.com, which MacKay said is the benchmark in the industry. It's one of 18 member pharmacies in CIPA, he said.

Any U.S. prescription is checked by five professionals before it reaches the patient, Fraser said. That includes three pharmacists at the plant, one Canadian doctor and the U.S. doctor who writes the prescription.

"On a daily basis we catch drug allergies, potential interactions, duplication on therapy and inappropriate therapy," Fraser said.

All drugs are inspected, approved and registered by Health Practices and Food Branch, Canada's version of the United States' Food and Drug Administration, Fraser said. All packages are sealed with the original manufacturer's label, he said.

CanadaDrugs.com does 87 percent of its business over the phone and 13 percent on the Internet, which is typical for most companies, MacKay said.

"We require prescriptions, we require a patient medical history, and we require a patient agreement which put the onus on us to continue the care between the patients and us."

There have been no cases of counterfeit drugs in Canada, MacKay said. Compared to the United States, it's easier to monitor drug wholesalers in Canada because they are federally regulated and there are fewer of them, he said.

"The less stops along the way, the less opportunities to introduce counterfeit medications," MacKay said.

Calls to the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America were not immediately returned.

The drug supply is safer in Canada than in the United States, said Peter Wycoff, spokesman for the Minnesota Senior Federation,

"This whole idea that the FDA can't guarantee the safety of drugs from other countries may be true, but it can't prove the safety of drugs in this country, either," Wycoff said. "The FDA is only now getting around to suggesting that factory-sealed containers might be a good idea in this country."

Wycoff's group has an agreement with CanadaRx of Toronto under which any member can get drugs mailed from Canada at about half the U.S. retail price. Many of the members are not familiar with the Internet and want help with paperwork, he said.

"A person can go to any one of 30 to 40 legitimate pharmacy systems and do the same thing," Wycoff said. "The big issue is to be doubly sure that any pharmacy you're dealing with is licensed by the province."