Participants will deliver giant pill bottles containing tens of thousands of petition signatures and a prescription for public pharmacare
Ajax, Ontario – Pharmacare advocates will be gathering outside the constituency office of Health Minister Mark Holland on November 17 to deliver tens of thousands of petitions calling for public, universal pharmacare. The rally comes as the Liberals have yet to introduce the pharmacare legislation they pledged as part of their agreement with the NDP, and as there are no indications that any forthcoming bill would lay the foundation for a public single-payer program. The event will feature creative visual props, including giant inflatable pill bottles.
WHAT: Rally and petition delivery in support of public, universal pharmacare – featuring giant pill bottles that contain petitions and a prescription for a national public drug plan.
WHEN: Friday, November 17, 2023, 3pm ET
WHERE: Health Minister Mark Holland’s Constituency office, 100 Old Kingston Road, Ajax, Ontario L1T 2Z9
WHO: Supporters of public pharmacare, including representatives from the Council of Canadians and chapters, and the Canadian Health Coalition
WHY: There is less than one month left for the Trudeau government to meet a key deadline in its agreement with the NDP and pass a pharmacare bill. But the legislation is still in draft form and the government has yet to commit to any prerequisite funding for a national pharmacare program. Meanwhile, Health Canada has had an open door for industry lobbyists advocating to keep the current patchwork system in place. This rally will urge the government to listen to the voices of Canadians, not corporate lobbyists, and finally introduce legislation towards a public, single-payer pharmacare program.
VISUALS: There will be a giant 6-foot-tall inflatable medicine bottle with a prescription for public pharmacare. Participating organizations will also deliver tens of thousands of petition signatures calling for a public, universal pharmacare plan inside a pill-bottle-shaped box.
