This week, Interim NDP Leader Don Davis called on the Liberals to come clean about their plans for the program.Interim NDP Leader Don Davis said the federal government's response to the national drug health report was “stunningly negative.”
“I think this is politically dishonest,” he said in an interview.
Davis was involved in negotiations last year to propose the Pharmacare Act.
The legislation, passed just over a year ago, was a key part of the Supply and Confidence Agreement between the NDP and the Liberals under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
This required the government to establish a panel of experts to recommend the best way to create a universal single-payer pharmacy system.
The commission reported to Health Minister Marjorie Michel in October, and its report was published last month.
The report called on Ottawa to fully fund a list of essential medicines, which covers more than 90 per cent of Canada's prescriptions, and to establish an independent agency to manage that list. This system allows individuals to receive prescriptions for free using their health card.
The expert panel said the proposed model would avoid the pitfalls of pursuing lengthy negotiations on bilateral funding agreements with states and territories.
They also called on the government to pass legislation that would outline the details of the pharmacare policy and enshrine in law that Canadians have a right to access essential medicines.
Asked if the government intended to work towards it, Michel told reporters the government was considering the recommendations but had not promised to act.
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“As you know, we have a number of independent expert committees and they have their opinions, but they are not binding on the government,” she said on November 24.
Michel also pushed back against arguments that Ottawa should proceed without a bilateral agreement, saying his role is to negotiate with the provinces and territories.
“It's as if they rejected the report before studying it,” Davis said.
Members of the expert advisory committee met with Davis and other stakeholders in Ottawa last week.
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They said they requested a meeting with the Minister of Health immediately after submitting their report, but were unable to secure a meeting. Prime Minister Michel's office said last week that it had not received a formal request for a meeting, but did not explain why he had not requested a meeting with the committee.
No federal minister has met with the committee since the report was published.
“I think what we're hearing now from the government is that they're going to prioritize other issues,” Dr. Nav Persaud, chair of the expert panel and a physician at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto, said at a press conference on Parliament Hill on Friday.
He argued that pharmacare is more important than ever as the trade war with the United States could cause more Canadians to lose jobs and insurance benefits, and threatened tariffs could increase the cost of medicines.
Amy Lamb, a member of the committee and executive director of the Canadian Association of Indigenous Pharmacy Professionals, said the report “describes an investment in nation-building that is intentionally built on principles that originate in Canada.”
Mr Davis said the government needed to respect the Pharmacare Act and finalize the work from the first phase of the program.
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The legislation says Ottawa will negotiate agreements with provinces and territories to cover the cost of contraceptives and some diabetes medications.
Only four agreements have been signed so far, with B.C., Manitoba, P.E.I. and Yukon, and it was unclear during the summer months whether the Liberals planned to sign the remaining agreements.
Health care advocates have criticized the resulting patchwork system, saying it's unfair that people in some parts of the country have insurance while others don't.
“They continue to deceive Canadians into thinking they are in favor of ensuring all Canadians have access to the medicines they need through their public health care system and cards,” Davis said.
“But every time we try to push for it, they balk.”
Since Prime Minister Mark Carney took office, the government has sent mixed messages on pharmacare.
The Liberal Party promised in its election manifesto and campaign to “protect” programs such as dental care and pharmaceutical care. All of these were products of an NDP deal that supported Prime Minister Trudeau's minority government.
Mr Carney said in September that the government had made “clear commitments” on pharmacare and that the remainder of the deal would be completed “as quickly and fairly as possible”. He did not commit to expanding it into a national program.
The government's first budget, released in early November, included no new funding for pharmacare. The $1.5 billion set aside in the 2024 budget was supposed to cover the first phase, but more than 60% of that money has already been earmarked for four existing deals.
The committee's report estimates the cost of funding the Essential Medicines List to be between $6 billion and $10 billion per year, but estimates savings from competitive drug purchasing processes and existing insurance coverage would result in additional costs of about $3 billion per year.
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