(Ottawa) The New Democratic Party (NDP) says there is still enough time for the Liberals to keep their promise to present a bill on pharmacare by the end of the year. But if the government needs more time, their legislative partners expect an improved proposal.
NDP communications director Alana Cahill recalled that her party had been “very clear” that the first draft of the pharmacare bill presented to them by the Liberals “missed the mark » and did not guarantee coverage for everyone.
The support and confidence agreement that was reached last year between the NDP and the Liberals stipulates that a federal law on pharmacare must be adopted before the end of this year. However, she does not ask that the program be put in place by the end of 2023.
There are less than three weeks left before the House of Commons adjourns for the holiday recess, making it virtually impossible to introduce and pass a bill before that deadline.
Butme Cahill believes there may still be enough time to do this and notes that discussions are underway on this subject in Ottawa.
Meeting at a convention earlier this fall, the New Democrats unanimously adopted a resolution declaring that the party should withdraw from its agreement with the Liberals if the legislation that the latter are proposing for pharmacare does not throw off the foundations of a real universal and public program.
Mme Cahill, however, maintained that, for now, negotiations with the Liberals remain constructive.
“If they take more time, we expect more results for Canadians,” she said in a written statement.
Federal Health Minister Mark Holland suggested last week that the current economic climate was one of the reasons negotiations with the NDP were taking so long.
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland unveiled an economic statement last week that introduced new safeguards on the size of federal deficits for the coming years, leaving little room for new spending before 2027 as soon as possible.