(Ottawa) NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he wants all Canadians with a health insurance card to be able to obtain free contraceptives and morning-after pills. He says he wants to respect the right of each person to do what they want with their body.
The New Democratic Party is taking advantage of its “support and confidence” agreement with the Liberals to try to get the federal government to pay for contraception, particularly intrauterine devices (IUDs).
But on Friday, Mr. Singh reiterated that the agreement to maintain Justin Trudeau’s minority government in power until 2025 would no longer hold if it does not respect the deadline of 1er March to table a bill that meets the expectations of both parties.
The Liberals and NDP have already agreed to cover birth control through a single-payer program initially. They are also in talks to include diabetes medications in the program.
Speaking to reporters in Coquitlam, British Columbia, during a stop at a local pharmacy, Mr. Singh said “contraception is an important first step.”
“It’s something that there’s a lot of concern about,” he said, citing the decline in access to abortion in the United States and the “erosion of women’s right to choose.”
He said that to respond to this, the Canadian government must ensure that barriers are removed that prevent some people from accessing contraception.
In recent months, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has also expressed concerns about new restrictions on access to abortion south of the border.
“We can think to ourselves, ‘This will never happen in Canada and it’s just the Liberals bringing up the usual fear that this will happen.’ I’m sorry, that wasn’t supposed to happen in the United States either, and yet it happened,” Mr. Trudeau said in an interview with The Canadian Press in December.
“The threat is real,” he maintained.
Mr. Singh said New Democrats are prepared to work “days, nights and weekends” over the coming weeks to secure a deal on pharmacare.
For years, Canada had the third highest list price of patented medicines among Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries.
In 2022, Canada moved to second place, according to the review panel charged with guarding against excessive drug prices.
Health Minister Mark Holland presented Canada’s new cost ranking position in the House of Commons on Friday as part of the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board’s 2022 annual report.