Federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh
“Today in Canada, one-in-five Canadians – close to 7.5 million people – either has no drug coverage at all or effectively has no coverage due to high deductibles and co-payments. As a result, nearly three million Canadians do not take their medication as prescribed because they cannot afford it – leading to hundreds of preventable deaths every year.” – Canada’s NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh
News from Canada’s New Democratic Party
Posted February 14th, 2020 on Niagara At Large
Ottawa, Ontario – This week, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh sent a letter to Premier Doug Ford to update the government of Ontario on the NDP’s plan to bring in pharmacare for all and to seek his government’s support to make sure every person in Ontario is covered.
“New Democrats know that sky-high prices put enormous pressure on the provinces. In fact, prescription drugs are now the second largest spending category in Canadian healthcare, costing more than physicians’ services,” said Singh.
“This isn’t right. New Democrats are committed to doing better. We’re proud to be beginning 2020 by bringing forward ground-breaking federal legislation to establish a universal, comprehensive and public pharmacare plan that will deliver better healthcare for everyone in Ontario.”
Today in Canada, one-in-five Canadians – close to 7.5 million people – either has no drug coverage at all or effectively has no coverage due to high deductibles and co-payments. As a result, nearly three million Canadians do not take their medication as prescribed because they cannot afford it – leading to hundreds of preventable deaths every year. Ontarians pay $2.5 billion out of pocket for the medicine they need annually – and costs are rising.
“Pharmacare will save the provinces money and will free up significant room in future provincial health budgets. Even though Justin Trudeau once promised to negotiate a new Health Accord with provinces and territories, his government has preserved Stephen Harper’s misguided cut to the Canada Health Transfer escalator,” added Singh.
In the spirit of cooperation and in the interest of people in the province, Singh is also offering the government of Ontario a full briefing on the federal New Democratic Party’s pharmacare legislation. In addition to bringing-in a national pharmacare program, Singh is also calling on the Liberal government to reverse their cuts in healthcare transfers and increase health funding to the province.
“New Democrats believe that the federal government must reverse these funding cuts and make new investments to deliver the healthcare that Canadians need. In the coming months, we have a historic opportunity to work together to finally deliver the strong healthcare services that people in Ontario need,” said Singh.
To read Canadian NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh’s letter to Ontario Premier Doug Ford, click on- https://mcusercontent.com/1dc08afe66f1672dba21b665e/files/cdaaed98-bb15-4621-992e-a8fc00f1ec45/13022020_Pharmacare_Letter_to_Doug_Ford_from_Jagmeet_Singh.01.pdf
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