‘Fill-the-gaps’ programs can’t replace Liberal promise of pharmacare, advocates say

As political pressure builds on the federal Liberals pledge to usher in Canadas first ever national drug coverage program, questions are being raised about implementation delays and whether Ottawas vision for pharmacare will indeed materialize as a universal, single-payer program.

Last week, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh told reporters he wants to see a national framework for pharmacare passed into federal law before the end of 2023.

If this doesnt happen, Singh threatened to withdraw from his partys confidence-and-supply agreement with the Liberals, which has been keeping the minority government in power.

It is a deal-breaker, Singh said Jan. 19.

This is the framework necessary to move forward with universal public pharmacare. And that’s something we fought for in the agreement we negotiated, and we expect it to be there.

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Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said his government remains committed to taking significant steps towards tabling a Canada Pharmacare Act in 2023, according to a statement from his office sent to Global News.