Is Pharmacare on ice? Health Minister says no new agreement is being worked on with provinces
Canada’s public pharmacare program appears to be in limbo, with the federal health minister confirming that Ottawa is not negotiating with the remaining provinces and territories to reach a deal.
This month’s budget also did not include additional funds to expand coverage across the country – Lawyers questioning future of public drug plan,
More than a year ago, the Trudeau Liberals passed the Canada Pharmacare Act. In it, the federal government committed to signing agreements with all provinces and territories to cover the cost of contraceptive and diabetes drugs and devices.
It was seen as the first step in bringing nationwide, universal drug insurance to Canadians, the four provinces and territories , BC, Manitoba, PEI and Yukon , Signed agreement with Ottawa Before the federal election.
But since then, no further agreements have been announced. Health Minister Marjorie Mitchell CBC News is told his department is not in active discussions to sign another.
“Right now, we have four provinces with this coverage,” Mitchell said.
“I’m continuing to have conversations with the provinces and territories on next steps. So not for today, but I’m still continuing to have conversations.”
But are these conversations being held honestly?
No additional funding was earmarked for pharmacare programs in the 2025 federal budget and about 60 per cent of the $1.5 billion over five years already committed has already been called for and only three provinces and one territory have signed up to the plan.
Some provinces are ready to sign
CBC News reached out to the remaining provinces and territories to see if they are currently in talks with Ottawa to sign an agreement. No jurisdiction said they were.
Ontario’s Ministry of Health did not respondBoth Saskatchewan and New Brunswick said they were ready to talk with Ottawa, Quebec and Alberta said they are waiting to hear back from the federal government,
Alberta also said it had “serious concerns” about Long-term sustainability of the program. That province has told Ottawa it wants to decide which drugs fall within its scope.
“We have yet to receive details on the federal government’s long-term vision for pharmacare or how it will be financially sustained,” Alberta’s Ministry of Primary and Preventive Health Services wrote in a statement to CBC News.
Health Minister Marjorie Mitchell says she is continuing to talk with the provinces and territories about pharmacare, but the federal government is not in active discussions with them to make new deals to cover diabetes and contraceptive drugs.
Asked repeatedly about the nature of negotiations with the remaining provinces, Mitchell explained that some of them want to cover different drugs.
“When the pharmacare agreement was reached last time, some provinces or territories didn’t want the two coverages we offered. And that’s still true,” Mitchell said.
“We’re there to support our partners. And I’m talking with them about how we can best support them right now.”
But other provinces appear ready to sign agreements with Ottawa under the original framework. Nova Scotia said five months ago He wanted to resume negotiations.
A spokesperson for the Nova Scotia Department of Health told CBC News the province has still not received a response from the federal government.
no new money in the budget
Pharmacare supporters point to this fall’s budget as another sign that the government may slow down its commitment.
In more than 400 pages, the budget mentions pharmacare only once, when the Liberals say they are “protecting the vital social programs that Canadians rely on, from child care to dental care to pharmacare.”
Prime Minister Mark Carney has used the word “protection” for some time, in what appears to be a promise to maintain existing deals, but not to extend more.
“There are some demands or desires to expand into different areas, and we won’t be able to move as quickly as we otherwise would,” Carney said last month.
But the Prime Minister’s message on pharmacare has been mixed. He told this to journalists in September Ottawa was committed to signing the remaining agreements.
If that’s the case, Carney hasn’t set aside enough cash to do so.
Their new budget does not set aside any additional money to cover the cost of the drugs for future deals.
Sixty per cent of the $1.5 billion set aside in 2024 to pay for the drug has already been spoken for by four provinces and territories with existing agreements.
“It’s worrying,” said Teal Phelps Bondaroff of AccessBC, a grassroots group that has successfully lobbied for free contraceptives in British Columbia and has advocated for access across the country.
“If the federal government wants to negotiate with larger jurisdictions like Quebec and Ontario, they will need to bring more money to the table. And we haven’t seen that in this budget,” he said.
Only 17% of Canadians currently participate
Phelps Bondaroff said the four existing pharmacare deals only cover about 17 percent of the population.
“There is now a huge disparity in the ability of Canadians to access life-saving and life-changing medicine. And that is fundamentally unacceptable,” he said.
According to the federal government, one in five canadians There is little or no private drug insurance and they have to pay for their medications out of pocket.
2024 Leger poll commissioned The survey by the Canadian Cancer Society and the Heart and Stroke Foundation found that one in four Canadians surveyed had to choose between paying for a prescription drug and cutting down on groceries, rent, house payments, bills or debt.
That’s worrisome for diabetics like Roger Cook of New Brunswick, who pays hundreds of dollars a month for his medication and is waiting for his province to join the national plan.
He said, “People shouldn’t have to go without food to buy their medicine, or go without medicine to buy their food. This should be for them.” “This is very worrying.”
‘Kicking the can down the road’
The lack of clarity from the federal government is also worrying for the federal NDP.
The pharmacare legislation was the result of a confidence and supply agreement between the previous Trudeau Liberals and the opposition New Democrats. The NDP agreed to support the Liberal minority government on key votes for more than two years in exchange for social programs like dental care and pharmacare.
“Everyone feels like they’re throwing trash in the street,” said NDP health critic Gord Johns.
“We have asked the minister repeatedly and he has said he is committed to pharmacare, but there has still been no action on a new deal. It has been months since he has had the opportunity to sign new agreements,” Johns said.
He said the lack of money in the budget shows the Liberals are not truly committed to pharmacare.
“It is not nation-building when you admit only a few provinces.”
