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October 4th, 2019

Families Can’t Go Four More Years Without Drug and Dental Care

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says charging for medicine means families ‘pay up or get sick’

SASKATOON – Decades of Conservative and Liberal governments siding with big pharma, instead of with everyday Canadians, means families are forced to pay up, or get sick — and families can’t go four more years without drug and dental coverage, said NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh.

“Because of Justin Trudeau’s choices, there are Canadians who sit at the kitchen table and cut their pills in half to make the bottle last longer,” said Singh. “There are moms and dads who have to make the heartbreaking decision to put off getting their kid’s cavity filled because money’s tight. Families can’t go four more years without the medicine they need. They can’t go four more years without getting their teeth checked.”

Rather than expanding health care, the Conservatives would cut and squeeze health care even more. Justin Trudeau promised to help the middle class but did nothing to reduce the cost of prescription drugs, housing or other costs — and, as a result, families are falling further behind. Singh said it’s no surprise Trudeau won’t implement a universal pharmacare plan, since the record shows the Trudeau government has met behind closed doors with pharmaceutical and insurance companies more than 850 times.

“No wonder the Liberals have blocked pharmacare and dental coverage. They’re not working for you, and I want people to know that you don’t have to settle for that. No one should have to spend four more years being forced to choose between paying up, or letting their family get sick,” said Singh. “People need a New Deal. Not Conservative cuts that would cost families more and force more folks to end up in jam-packed hospitals. Not a plan to keep protecting the profits of big pharma. A plan to make life affordable and healthy for you and your kids.”

Singh’s platform commits to introducing a national universal pharmacare plan by the end of 2020, saving each family more than $500 a year, even if they already have insurance; and a dental plan to provide coverage for millions of families. The NDP’s platform includes a one per cent tax on wealth over $20 million, raising $70 billion over 10 years — funding better, expanded health care.