On January 30, The Council of Canadians sent a copy of our A Prescription for Better Medicine: Why Canadians need a national pharmacare program report to all 338 Members of Parliament along with this questionnaire.
Council of Canadians health care campaigner Michael Butler notes, “The purpose of the questionnaire is to explore MPs’ understanding and position regarding pharmacare. The Council of Canadians will be publishing a summary of the survey results on our website and in printed material to help the push to make pharmacare a reality.”
On February 13, chapters from across the country called their MP to encourage their elected representative to complete the questionnaire by February 17.
Butler had written to chapters to ask, “If you could call the MPs in your area and ask them if they have filled out the questionnaire from the Council of Canadians it would be a huge help. We are hoping if MPs hear from the people in their community, they will take notice on this issue and answer the questions. Our goal is to put out this information at the end of the month so Canadians across the country know where their MPs stand.”
The Council of Canadians Kent County, Quill Plains (Wynyard), NWT, and Kitchener-Waterloo chapters called their MP to encourage them to complete the questionnaire on pharmacare. Winnipeg-based Council of Canadians organizer Brigette DePape called MPs in the Winnipeg area and Butler called the offices of 60 MPs.
We will be issuing a media release on the responses we have received from MPs on February 27.
To add your name to our petition calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Health Minister Jane Philpott to implement pharmacare, please click here.
We need to keep pushing on this.
While a poll show 91 per cent of Canadians want a national pharmacare program, and studies show implementing one could save up to $11 billion dollars annually, the health minister indicated in April 2016 that pharmacare is not part of her mandate, that it is too costly, and that it will not be introduced in this Parliament.
For numerous campaign blogs on pharmacare, please click here.
