Trudeau’s resignation leaves health care programs unfinished

The political engines are revving in Ottawa after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stepped down on Monday, prompting a Liberal leadership race. Meanwhile, Opposition parties have promised to defeat the minority Liberal government at the earliest opportunity, triggering an election likely in the spring.

How does all this affect key health care promises and new programs brought forward by the government recently?

The Canadian Health Coalition has been advocating for many important health care programs and policies since this session of Parliament began in 2021. While there has been a lot of progress made – especially through the Liberal-NDP deal that ran from March 2022 until September 2024 – some of the new programs are not fully implemented.

Safe Long-Term Care Act

The Liberals promised to introduce a Safe Long-Term Care Act in their 2021 election platform, reiterating the pledge in the deal with the NDP, but no such legislation has ever been introduced. 

In December, the Canadian Health Coalition co-signed an open letter addressed to Minister of Health Mark Holland and Minister of Labour Steven MacKinnon along with the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions, Canadian Labour Congress and nine allied organizations pressing the federal government to introduce a Safe Long-Term Care Act that is mandatory and enforceable, ensuring seniors across the country get the care they deserve.

Along with his resignation, Trudeau prorogued Parliament until March 24, which essentially puts all legislative process on hold. Current legislation in Parliament dies (if not resurrected later with the opposition’s support), and certainly no new legislation can be introduced – including the Safe Long Term Care Act.

Canadian Dental Care Plan

The federal dental care plan has been funded and is rolling out in stages to include more and more groups of people – but the largest group of Canadians intended to be covered by the plan has yet to be enrolled, leaving millions without promised coverage.

The Canadian Dental Care Plan is intended to cover nine million uninsured residents with an annual family income of less than $90,000. But right now only seniors over 65, children under 18, and those with disabilities are eligible, leaving the largest cohort of people, those between the ages of 18 and 65, without dental coverage.

This program’s last stage was intended to be rolled out in early 2025 (or sooner, according to the NDP), but prorogation might have a harmful impact.  

Pharmacare

One of our greatest campaign accomplishments in 2024 was the successful adoption of Bill C-64, the Pharmacare Act, which became law in October – only a few weeks before Parliament’s last day. The Pharmacare Act is funded with $1.5 billion for provinces and territories to provide public coverage of contraception and diabetes medication.

Provincial and territorial governments need to strike bilateral deals with the federal government in order to receive the funding and make free medication available to people – but not one deal has been signed to date.

Health Minister Holland said he wants to get free medicine into people’s hands by January of 2025, and a deal with every province by the spring. British Columbia inked a commitment to negotiate a final agreement last summer, but weeks have passed since the NDP government was re-elected in Victoria and still no money is flowing. Manitoba is another likely early adopter, and possibly New Brunswick’s new Liberal government that campaigned on free contraception.

According to the Globe and Mail, Matthew Kronberg, a spokesperson for Minister Holland, said Tuesday the federal government is in talks with every province and territory on pharmacare. “Minister Holland continues to discuss it directly with each of his provincial and territorial counterparts,” he said.

How prorogation will affect bilateral agreements for pharmacare is not clear. Legislation is paused, but bilateral agreements with provinces don’t require parliamentary approval. Nevertheless, the lack of leadership inside the government might chill progress on pharmacare until March 24.

The Canada Health Act

The Canadian Health Coalition joined with Canadian Doctors for Medicare and the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions in calling for Health Minister Mark Holland to enforce the Canada Health Act.

Canadians desperate for health care are increasingly turning to virtual care and nurse practitioners as the way to get services, but many are facing unexpected bills because Canada has a patchwork of rules governing whether these essential medical services are covered by provincial health plans.

Together, we went to Ottawa to urge the Prime Minister to work with Health Minister Mark Holland to immediately release the long-promised Canada Health Act Interpretation Letter, clarifying that virtual care and nurse practitioner care are medically necessary services for which patients must not be charged.

The response from Minister Holland’s office is still “stay tuned.” Responding to the Globe and Mail, spokesperson Matthew Kronberg said, “We hope to have more to say on the upcoming letter soon.”

What’s next?

Parliament has been grid-locked by Conservative procedural filibustering for weeks – especially since the Liberals can no longer call on the NDP’s support. But with MPs told to stay home until March 24, the focus will be on the race to replace Justin Trudeau as party leader.

It’s too early to tell if health care will emerge in the leadership race, but issues like pharmacare reportedly divided Trudeau’s Cabinet members between fiscal conservatives and progressives, many of whom will likely join the contest.

But in the meanwhile, we will continue to call on governments to defend and expand Medicare, prorogation be damned.