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August 9th, 2019

Trudeau Stalling Pharmacare, Again

Petitpas Taylor's announcement comes after the Liberals met with pharma and insurance companies more than 700 times

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh released the following statement in response to the Health Minister Ginette Petipas Taylor’s announcement that the Liberal government would tweak a drug price comparator list, rather than move ahead with a universal plan to cover Canadians’ prescription drugs:

“The Liberals have announced another stall tactic to avoid pharmacare — a stall tactic that is yet another favour to the richest drug companies, at the expense of Canadians.

The best way Canada can lower the price of drugs is well documented: buying them in bulk using the negotiating power of a 37-million-person single-payer pharmacare plan. But big pharmaceutical and insurance companies don’t want that, so after meeting with them more than 700 times since 2015, Trudeau’s Liberals are stalling pharmacare, and therefore making life easier for big pharma.

And while Trudeau stalls, millions of people are skipping the medicine they need because of the cost. Far too often, they end up in the emergency department.

The NDP is leading the fight to expand medicare to include prescription drug coverage for everyone, regardless of their job status, where they live, their age, their health status, or how much money they make. With our New Deal for People, by late 2020, Canadians will only need their health card – not their credit card – to buy the medicine their family needs, saving each household more than $500 a year.”