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October 7th, 2019

Study Shows How Trudeau’s Abandoned Pharmacare Promise Will Hurt People

A study done by the St. Michael’s Hospital’s MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions shows that providing universal pharmacare will make life significantly more affordable for people.

It found that covering the cost of prescription drugs causes a large increase – from 33% to 86% – in people’s ability to "make ends meet" or afford basic necessities such as food and rent, showing that for many people, medicine costs are the difference between paying the bills or not.

Meanwhile, experts agree that Justin Trudeau has abandoned his pharmacare promise. Former Liberal Health Minister Jane Philpott says it falls “far short” of what is required.

It’s been 22 years since the Liberals first rolled out their pharmacare promise. And this campaign, just six days after telling Canadians he would bring in pharmacare, Justin Trudeau completely abandoned Canadians struggling with the cost of prescription drugs.

The lead scientists criticized the Liberals, pointing out that if they had made any progress on pharmacare in the last four years, they wouldn’t have been able to find people to participate in their study.

NDP candidate Don Davies (Vancouver Kingsway):
“Across Canada, people are having to make impossible choices every day – cutting pills in half, choosing between paying rent or filling their prescription, or going without the drugs they need altogether. It doesn’t have to be this way. Trudeau’s Liberals could have chosen to stand up for Canadians and bring in drug coverage, but they listened to lobbyists and chose not to act. New Democrats will do the right thing and invest in your health by immediately bringing in a universal, comprehensive pharmacare program.”