Drug insurance program | Quebec would benefit from joining the regime, says Alexandre Boulerice

(Ottawa) While ensuring that the Quebec government will have the right to withdraw from the national drug insurance program whose announcement is imminent, the New Democratic Party (NDP) implores the province to listen to this proposal which “will downright change the lives of millions of people” rather than brushing it aside as he is currently doing.

” The system of government [québécois] current, it is imperfect, summarized Wednesday the deputy leader of the NPD, Alexandre Boulerice. There are people who work part-time in grocery stores who are required to contribute to their group insurance. It’s 30% of their pay. Before saying “no” to this world, could we sit down and chat? »

During a press scrum in the foyer of the House of Commons, Mr. Boulerice argued that the public-private regime in force in Quebec imposes “an immense burden” on workers, employers and the health system in general.

However, the bill to be announced by the end of the week would lay the foundations for a universal, single-payer national plan. This model, he recalled, constitutes the best way to control and reduce the cost of medicines in the country, according to the imposing Hoskins report published in 2019.

The bill is expected to provide coverage for contraceptives and “most” medications to treat type 1 and 2 diabetes initially under a universal, single-payer program.

The “fields of competence”

But the Quebec government intends to “defend” its areas of jurisdiction, indicated a spokesperson for Quebec Minister of Health, Christian Dubé.

“We will exercise our right of withdrawal. We want full financial compensation, without conditions,” press secretary Audrey Noiseux wrote to The Canadian Press.

She mentioned that the government also plans to “improve” the health services offered in the province.

It is “a shame” and “sad” that François Legault’s government refuses to “help young women have access to contraceptives every month for free,” lamented Alexandre Boulerice.

Both Minister Dubé, Prime Minister Legault and his Alberta counterpart Danielle Smith – the other province which already wants to exercise its right of withdrawal – will have to “explain themselves to their citizens,” he insisted.

As for the right of withdrawal with full compensation, Mr. Boulerice said he feared that Quebec, rather than allocating the funds to drug insurance, would use them for “tax cuts, […] build roads or a third link.”

The former Prime Minister of Quebec Jean Charest claimed to lack money to finance services, he recounted as an example, then “when he received money from the federal government, he gave a tax cut”.

The Bloc calls for clarity

In any case, it is far from clear that in terms of the right of withdrawal the minority Liberal government is on the same wavelength as the New Democrats with whom they agreed on the bill, one of the pillars of the agreement which allows them to remain in power.

“Get along with the rest of you,” said the leader of the Bloc Québécois, Yves-François Blanchet, during a press briefing. Before announcing the marriage, go to a restaurant for dinner. But there, they do not agree on the very basis of whether there is or is there no right of withdrawal with full compensation without conditions. »

The Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, twice rather than once avoided directly answering questions asked in the House of Commons which required a simple “yes or no”.

“We are here to ensure that people everywhere can pay the prices of medicines. We will work with the provinces, including Quebec, to ensure that there is coverage of the elements that Canadians need,” said Mr. Trudeau.

The federal Minister of Health, Mark Holland, was just as enigmatic the day before calling for “not to criticize” a bill whose content has not been revealed and instead to wait for its tabling.

According to the Bloc leader, the “very small” federal drug insurance program will only cover “matters already covered” by the Quebec government, so that it has “no added value.”

He also warned the government that his party will not support the federal budget “if there is a cent […] which serves to intrude into the jurisdictions of Quebec without complete and unconditional compensation.”

And to those who believe that he no longer has a balance of power now that the government’s survival is assured, he “strongly suggests […] to listen to what Quebec is asking.”

“And what Quebec is asking will not be conveyed by the NDP, will not be conveyed by the Conservatives, and the Liberals should listen to what Quebec is asking,” he added.

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre did not appear before journalists on Wednesday and did not mention this during his speeches in the House.

With information from Émilie Bergeron in Ottawa and Thomas Laberge in Quebec