The department of Health said taxpayers are “sensitive to cost considerations” of the proposed pharmacare deal between the Liberals and New Democrats. .A Fraser Institute poll found that Canadians do not want to pay more taxes to have pharmacare coverage for everyone..According to Blacklock’s Reporter, as part of an agreement with New Democrat leader Jagmeet Singh, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised to pass a pharmacare bill by the end of the year..“Canadians are generally supportive of improving affordable access to prescription drugs but are also sensitive to cost considerations as government health-related expenses continue to grow, particularly in the context of COVID-19,” said an April 27 internal memo Pharmacare..“A May 2022 Fraser Institute poll following the federal budget found that 79% of Canadians support universal national pharmacare with no costs attached. Support fell by almost half to 40% if the program was to be financed by an increase in the GST.”.On March 22, 2022, the Liberal and New Democrat parties made a deal to keep the Liberals in power until 2025, as long as the prime minister passes pharmacare by the end of 2023. So far, no pharmacare bill has been introduced..The memo stated that the government is "working" on a plan for drug coverage. However, whether they could keep their promise on the agreed-upon deadline was unclear..“The Government of Canada is committed to continuing working with willing provinces and territories towards national pharmacare,” said the memo. .“This will include tabling a Canada pharmacare bill and working to have it passed by the end of 2023.”.On January 19, Singh told reporters that the government needs to keep its promise..“It has got to be passed by the end of this year,” said Singh. .“That is just one step.”.“Is it a deal breaker?” asked a reporter. .“It’s part of our agreement, so if they didn’t do that, they would be breaking the deal,” replied Singh..“According to what we forced the government to do, we want to see a national framework for pharmacare presented in Parliament and passed in Parliament by the end of the year. This is the framework necessary to move forward with universal public pharmacare.”.“We want pharmacare to be achieved,” said Singh. .“Our first goal will be to fight back to make sure we actually see that legislation passed so we can move forward with universal pharmacare in our country so people don’t have to worry about the cost of medication.”.The Parliamentary Budget Office puts the program's cost at $10.5 billion annually. New Democrats in the 2019 election campaign proposed taxpayer-funded coverage with a $5 user fee for patients who request brand-name medications when generic substitutes are available.
