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September 29th, 2019

Trudeau’s Phony Pharmacare: What People Are Saying

Here’s what people said about Justin Trudeau’s phony pharmacare plan:

“Filling the gaps in Canada's health care system will take billions of dollars more than the Liberals have put on the table.” Jonathan Gatehouse, CBC

“What they are currently proposing to spend is nowhere near what they would have to spend to set up a national pharmacare program.” Michael Law, UBC Associate Professor of Public Health.

“The announcement... falls short of the specifics that are necessary. … They fall short of what the Hoskins report recommended and what the Parliamentary Budget Officer has recommended.” Jane Philpott, former Health Minister

“It is disturbingly vague. It is not clear whether Trudeau is promising a universal program, as advocated by the Hoskins panel, or a more limited version designed to fill in gaps in existing drug coverage, as favoured by Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer and Liberal Finance Minister Bill Morneau.” Thomas Walkom, Toronto Star

“Asked by a reporter about the discrepancy between his $6 billion commitment and the PBO’s estimate, Trudeau did not give a clear answer.” Victoria Gibson, iPolitics

“He’s also the guy who couldn’t answer very simple reporters’ questions about what sort of pharmacare he was envisioning, or the timeline for it.” Chris Selley, National Post

“This seems to be emerging as a theme: cellphone costs, pharmacare, climate change… Details TBD!” Andrew Coyne