The New Democrats and Liberals have agreed to a new deadline of March 1 for the government to present a pharmacare bill in the House of Commons, as part of their support and confidence agreement.
In accordance with this agreement, which aims to obtain the support of the New Democratic Party (NDP) during key votes, the minority Liberals had promised to adopt by the end of the year a law which would lay the foundations for a future program drug insurance.
But so far the parties have failed to reach consensus on what exactly that framework should look like, stalling negotiations.
New Democrats say they have insisted on a universal, single-payer program, while Liberals have repeatedly talked about the need to be fiscally responsible.
NDP health critic Don Davies said in a statement that he is aware that many people do not take the medications they need because they cannot afford them. He said the situation is getting worse as Canadians face the high cost of living.
Mr. Davies argued that in this context, “it is more important than ever” to have a universal national drug insurance program.
Federal Health Minister Mark Holland has repeatedly spoken about the need to be fiscally responsible.
“Pharmacare will impact a lot of Canadians, which is why it’s important we get it right — and it takes time,” Minister Holland’s press secretary, Chris, said Thursday. Aoun, in a press release.
The work of the House of Commons is expected to end for the holiday break by Friday and will resume on January 29.
Earlier this week, Mr. Davies said the parties were in talks almost daily and that introducing a bill before the holidays was not out of the question. The new deadline allows these negotiations to be extended by several months.
Both sides said negotiations remained constructive.
Last month, the NDP said that if the Liberals did not meet the year-end deadline set in the original deal, they would expect more from this deal.
“If it takes more time, we expect more results for Canadians,” said NDP communications director Alana Cahill in a press release on November 27.
The party did not say whether that threat persists, or what more it plans to ask for now that the deadline has been pushed back.