Skip to content

New report, polling, and day of action call for national pharmacare plan

Council of Canadians chapters across the country are taking part in a day of action on May 27 to lobby Liberal MPs on pharmacare. A recent poll commissioned by the Council of Canadians poll shows 91% of Canadians want the Liberal government to a implement a pharmacare plan.

A new report from the Council shows how replacing private drug plans with a universal pharmacare program is both economically-efficient and good for public health care in Canada.

“Canada has the unique distinction of being the only country with universal public health care that doesn’t include prescription drug coverage,” says Brent Patterson, Political Director of the Council of Canadians. “As drug costs rise higher and higher, this missing piece of medicare becomes more and more of a problem. No other policy change and program can have the same kind of positive impact on the well-being of Canadians while saving $14 billion or more annually than universal pharmacare.”

“The solution to these runaway costs is clear: universal pharmacare,” says Maude Barlow, National Chairperson of the Council of Canadians. “By adopting a universal pharmacare program with the buying power to negotiate reasonable prices for the medications Canadians need, we create a system that benefits everyone.”

The Council is encouraging people to contact the Prime Minister and the Health Minister to call on them to protect, strengthen and expand Canada’s public health care system by showing the political leadership necessary to develop a national pharmacare program. The House of Commons standing committee on health is currently reviewing pharmacare and will release a report with recommendations this fall.

-30-

For more information or to arrange interviews:

Dylan Penner, Media Officer, Council of Canadians, 613-795-8685, dpenner@canadians.org. Twitter: @CouncilOfCDNs