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February 24th, 2021

Liberals and Conservatives say no to helping Canadians who can’t afford their medication

Liberals and Conservatives voted against the NDP’s bill to make universal pharmacare for all a reality in Canada, leaving behind millions of Canadians.

OTTAWA — With 1 in 5 Canadians unable to afford the medication their doctors prescribe and COVID exposing the gaps in our healthcare, a national universal public pharmacare program is needed now more than ever. Moments ago, Liberals and Conservatives voted against the NDP’s Bill C-213, An Act to Enact the Canada Pharmacare Act which lays out the path to establishing a universal, single-payer, comprehensive and public pharmacare plan.

“This is disheartening,” said NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh. “This was the Liberals’ chance to act on a promise they have been making for over 24 years. Today, they made it clear that they have no interest in helping Canadians who are struggling to afford their prescription medication — they would rather side with big pharma and abandon families across the country. This is the wrong choice, but we won’t let the Liberals stop our efforts. We will keep fighting for people who are counting on us.”

By opposing a bill that would pave the way for Canadian Pharmacare, Justin Trudeau’s Liberals broke their promise to voters and abandoned their commitment to helping those in financial and medical need. And with polls showing that Canadians overwhelmingly support pharmacare (88 percent support), this newfound opposition by Prime Minister Trudeau and his Liberal MPs remains even more baffling. In addition, they voted against their own report led by Dr. Hoskins.

“We know that families from coast to coast to coast are struggling to afford their medication,” said NDP House Leader Peter Julian (New Westminster—Burnaby). “We introduced this bill to make people’s lives better and more affordable. Liberals and Conservatives don’t want any of it. Instead of working for your family, they are siding with big pharma and insurance companies. They’re working for the wealthy. We’re fighting for you.”