I can imagine the disappointment Jack Harris and others have had when the Federal Liberal minority government have not moved forward in the pursuit of a national pharmacare program.
During the past several Decades the Federal Liberals, especially during the Jean Chretien, Paul Martin, Stephane Dion, Michael Ignatieff, Bob Rae and now Justin Trudeau eras have either unfulfilled promises, stalled or dithered or delayed or studied pharmacare continuously while in power, but while in opposition, are strong supporters of pharmacare.
Years and decades of Liberal government studies, especially the Romanow Report, and the 2004 National Pharmaceutical Strategy and also the National Poverty Reduction strategy, amongst numerous House of Commons and Senate committee reports, have focused on pharmacare but nothings seems to get done
We all know where the federal Conservatives stand on a national public drug plan. The Tories support the status quo, the current patchwork of 14 federal, provincial and territorial drug programs and have had a history of opposing national pharmacare, period.
Surely Trudeau’s Liberals recognize that Canada is the only nation with a national Medicare program without pharmacare.
Many nations, especially Australia, New Zealand, U.K., Ireland, France, Italy and others, have a much more comprehensive universal program that covers all or most of their citizens drug costs.
Come on Justin, every Canadian health consumer from coast to coast to coast should be covered under a national drug program, period.
It is time your government work with the Jagmeet Singh’s NDP and the Greens to finally make pharmacare a reality.
We need it now, Mr. Trudeau!
Edward Sawdon,
St. John’s
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