The New Democrats and Liberals have agreed to a new deadline of March 1 for the government to present a pharmacare bill in the House of Commons as part of their support and confidence agreement.
In accordance with this agreement, which aims to obtain the support of the NDP in key votes, the minority Liberals had promised to adopt, by the end of the year, a law which would lay the foundations for a future insurance program drugs.
But so far the parties have failed to reach consensus on what exactly that framework should look like, stalling negotiations.
New Democrats say they have insisted on a universal, single-payer program, while Liberals have repeatedly talked about the need to be fiscally responsible.
NDP health critic Don Davies said in a statement that he knows many people don’t take the medications they need because they can’t afford them. He said the situation is getting worse as Canadians struggle with a high cost of living.
Mr. Davies argued that, in this context, it is more important than ever to have a universal national drug insurance program.
Health Minister Mark Holland has repeatedly spoken about the need to be fiscally responsible.
Drug insurance will impact a large number of Canadians; That’s why it’s important that we get it right – and it takes time, Minister Holland’s press secretary, Chris Aoun, said in a statement on Thursday.
The work of the House of Commons is expected to end for the holiday break by Friday and will resume on January 29.
Mr. Davies said earlier this week that the parties are in talks almost daily and that introducing a bill before the holidays is not out of the question. The new deadline allows these negotiations to be extended by several months.
Both sides said negotiations remained constructive.
More time, more waiting
Last month, the NDP said that if the Liberals failed to meet the year-end deadline set in the original deal, they would expect more from the deal.
If it takes more time, we expect more results for Canadians, argued NDP communications director Alana Cahill in a press release on November 27.
The party did not say whether that threat persists or what more it plans to ask for now that the deadline has been pushed back.
2023-12-15 01:39:52
#Drug #insurance #bill #March
