Poilievre vows to scrap pharmacare if given the chance
Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre has been a bit cagey about pharmacare – but not anymore. He pledged that if his party is elected, he’ll destroy the national universal plan that will provide essential medication to millions of people who need it.
“I will reject the radical plan for a ‘single-payer’ drug plan,” he said in the House of Commons during the debate on his motion that’s intended to bring down the government and force an immediate election.
Ironically, Poilievre’s attack on pharmacare flies in the face of his own voters’ support for the plan, according to a poll by Environics Research for the Canadian Health Coalition.
When asked for their response to the following statement, “Some people say Canada should implement a national ‘Pharmacare’ program that would provide equal access to prescription drugs for everyone in Canada, similar to how we do not pay out-of-pocket to be treated by doctors or in hospitals,” a strong majority (63%) of current Conservative federal voters said they strongly or somewhat supported the statement.
Poilievre’s speech in the House of Commons took a page from the disinformation promulgated by anti-pharmacare lobbyists, mostly backed by pharmaceutical and insurance companies. He mischaracterized the Pharmacare Act, which is currently before the Senate, stating all private insurance plans must be banned. This is not true.
Health Minister Mark Holland has made it clear that private plans will not be banned under the legislation. He testified to the Senate last week, “Folks will have a choice. You’ll have a choice between using private insurance or using a universal single-payer model.”
Fortunately, both the Bloc Québécois and the NDP voted with the Liberals to stop Poilievre’s political manoeuvre on Wednesday. But the minority Liberal government could face more confidence votes soon.
For instance, as reported by CBC, the Bloc Québécois is threatening to work with other parties to defeat the Liberal government before Christmas if several demands regarding increasing seniors’ pensions and protecting supply management for farming products from future trade agreements are not met.
Pharmacare is hanging by a thread, and we need to take action. Next week, I will be in Ottawa along with leaders from the Canadian Health Coalition and allies to meet with Senators, urging them to pass Bill C-64 as soon as possible, without time-consuming amendments.
You can make your voice heard by the Senate’s Standing Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology (SOCI) by sending an email to the Clerk of the committee. Urge members to pass Bill C-64, without amendments, to make pharmacare a reality.
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