Senate holding up Pharmacare Act

Canada’s Health Minister Mark Holland, once again, urged the Senate to pass Bill C-64, the Pharmacare Act this week. “The pharmacare legislation needs to pass through the Senate,” said Holland. “I think it is important to know we are squarely and continually focused on helping folks and trying to make things better.”

The Senate Social Affairs, Science and Technology (SOCI) committee plans to hold six meetings over three weeks to consider Bill C-64, beginning September 18. The Third Reading and final vote in the Senate is scheduled for October 10, at the earliest.

The delay leaves hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding for provinces and territories waiting to reach over 9 million Canadians of reproductive age and nearly 4 million diabetics. Minister Holland is ready to move forward, but he can’t negotiate bilateral funding deals until the Senate approves the bill and it receives Royal Assent.

At the time of C-64’s passing in the House of Commons in June, officials from the Health Minister’s and the House Leader’s offices told Canadian Health Coalition representatives they expected the Senate to pass the Pharmacare Act before the summer. The Minister said he had several provinces ready to enter into agreements soon thereafter.

In response, the Canadian Health Coalition and others held a media conference urging the Senate to pass Bill C-64 quickly, without amendments.

But the Senate had different ideas.

The Government Representative in the Senate, Senator Marc Gold, announced that Bill C-64 would not be passed until October – not June.

Now there are indications the Senate SOCI committee is entertaining amendments to Bill C-64, which will mean that people will have to wait even longer for free medication because the legislative to-and-fro between the House of Commons and the Senate will require much more time. Both the Liberals and the NDP have expressed no interest in further amendments to the bill. 

Meanwhile, the chess board that once seemed so favourable to pharmacare has changed during the four-month delay caused by the Senate.

• British Columbia, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick are holding elections next month, and the future of the pharmacare-friendly B.C. NDP government is uncertain, according to the polls.
• The NDP’s withdrawal from its confidence and supply agreement with the Liberals raises the prospect of an election sooner than the anticipated election date in October of 2025. The ascending Conservatives do not support pharmacare.

As the record shows, pharmaceutical and insurance corporations have lobbied furiously to derail Bill C-64, or delay it as long as possible. They no doubt have been actively lobbying in the Senate and provincial capitals, and they might be winning their fight against pharmacare.

Supporters of pharmacare, including the Canadian Health Coalition, will be back on Parliament Hill meeting with Senators, and urging supporters to contact SOCI members to get Bill C-64 passed as quickly as possible to continue advancing national, universal pharmacare. Canadians are tired of waiting – it’s time for pharmacare, now.