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On Tuesday, Canada’s NDP introduced Pharamacare legislation, outlining the New Democrats’ expectations of the government on the universal prescription medication program. As part of the Confidence and Supply agreement, New Democrats are using their power to force the government to pass pharmacare legislation by the end of the year.
Northern Ontario NDP MP’s Charlie Angus (Timmins-James Bay) and Carol Hughes (Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing) say this move to make prescription medication universal is crucial to help families, seniors and those struggling to keep up with their monthly bills as the cost-of-living crisis continues.
“I’m hearing how hard it is for residents of Northern Ontario to pay for their groceries, mortgage, gas, let alone their medication,” said Angus. “For over 25 years now, Liberals have been promising Pharmacare. Our parents, grandparents and children are paying the price for this broken promise, while Big Pharma keeps making record profits.”
Liberals have delayed price reforms of patented medication four times; they reduced their initial reforms from estimated savings for Canadians of $13 billion to $3 billion. Last November, after his department was lobbied 126 times by pharmaceutical companies, the Minister of Health intervened to suspend even these price reforms once again—opting to keep drug costs high for Canadians.
And despite having an insurance program paid for by the taxpayers, Pierre Poilievre doesn’t want Canadians to have free medication to stay healthy. The Conservatives teamed up with the Liberals last year to defeat the NDP Canada Pharmacare Act, but Jagmeet and the NDP didn’t stop fighting. Now, New Democrats are using their power to force the Liberals to act.
“Without this pressure from the NDP, the government wouldn’t act on this. We’ve seen repeatedly how eager the Liberals are to work for big pharmaceutical instead of the senior or hardworking family who scrimp and save to afford their medication,” said Hughes. “Thousands of people in my riding will benefit from Pharmacare, it will not only put money back in people’s pockets, but it will save lives. The Liberals need to act on this now.”
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