Issues

In the days before Medicare, New Democrats saw neighbours who were suffering because they could not afford the health care they needed. We saw people losing their homes, their farms, and their businesses to pay their medical bills. We saw illness destroying entire families.

In response to that reality, New Democrats led the fight to establish universal public health care for all Canadians. Medicare changed the lives of millions of people – and it is one of our party’s proudest achievements.

But today, decades later, as we look across this country, we see the pain of inaccessible and unaffordable health care, once again. As we work together to come through the COVID-19 crisis, we see evidence of a health system pushed to the brink.

Millions of families cannot afford to take the medications they need because they have no employer-provided drug coverage. The number of uninsured people forced to skip their medications is growing as more people work on contract, are self-employed, or have jobs that just don’t come with health benefits. And too many seniors are putting their health at risk because they don’t have drug coverage and can’t afford to pay out-of-pocket.

The stress and worry that people feel isn’t an accident. It’s the direct result of deliberate choices that have been made by Liberal and Conservative governments. They have chosen to let drug companies gouge patients. And they have chosen to leave millions of people uninsured or underinsured, paying hundreds or thousands out of pocket for medicine they need.

Today, Canada is the only wealthy country in the world with a universal health care system that lacks universal prescription insurance coverage. We pay the third highest prices for prescription drugs in the world, straining our health care systems across the country, and have to deal with a patchwork of programs and coverage – if we’re lucky enough to have coverage at all. In the face of a global pandemic, the need for a strong, national pharmacare program has never been stronger.

For ten years, instead of addressing the growing costs of drug coverage, the Conservatives made the problem worse by reducing health care funding to the provinces and undermining efforts towards a national approach to pharmaceutical pricing. Now, the Liberal government has spent six years stalling, by promising lower drug costs but delivering delays and more of the same piecemeal system that is failing Canadians and costing us more. They’ve delayed important changes that would reduce the price of drugs in Canada three times, because pharmaceutical companies asked them to. And the Liberal’s 2021 Budget confirmed that they’ve completely walked away from their commitment to pharmacare, just when Canadians need it most.

New Democrats believe that we must do better. Just as our party led the fight to establish universal public health care for all Canadians, we are leading the fight to expand Medicare – to include quality prescription drug coverage for everyone, regardless of your job, where you live, your age, your health status or how much money you make. We will begin working with the provinces right away to target a 2022 start date, with an annual federal investment of $10 billion.

This will go hand in hand with developing a national strategy to cover drugs for rare diseases, so that coverage is no longer determined by where you live or what private insurance your family has, as is currently the case.

A national pharmacare program means access to necessary medicines and medical devices in the same way that we currently have access to medical and hospital care – free at the point of care, financed by a public insurance system that covers everyone. It means that you’ll need your health card – not your credit card – at the pharmacy till. And it puts an end to costly co-payments, deductibles and premiums that cost families hundreds and even thousands a year.

Making prescription drugs more affordable saves everyone money. Seniors, families and young people get a break. Small businesses who want to provide coverage for drug costs are able to do it. Negotiating prices with big pharmaceutical companies brings down prices for everyone – saving money in our health care system that can be used to improve care.

Our plan will guarantee that every Canadian can get the medication they need. And it will mean big savings for employers who currently pay for employee benefits, helping to reward good employers and boost economic growth. It will also cost our system less overall, as a result of pooling the purchasing power of the entire country – freeing up much-needed funds for the provinces to re-invest in improving healthcare.

Most importantly, our pharmacare plan will mean a healthier Canada where no one has to make the impossible choice between the medicine they need and other essentials, like rent and food.

Accessible and publicly-funded education is a great source of opportunity for everyone in our society. It can transform lives, opening new horizons and new opportunities for people from every background. That makes education the greatest gift that we can give to each other, to our children, and to the next generation.

There are steps we can take to make education more affordable right now. Five provinces have already shown leadership in eliminating interest rates on student loans. It’s time for the federal government to do the same, and stop profiting from student debt. New Democrats will remove interest from federal student loans, and to help lift the debt burden from young people starting out, we will introduce a targeted debt forgiveness program for graduates that will forgive up to $20,000 in student debt. In the first year alone, this will wipe out 20% of all student debt and help 350,000 borrowers save money every month.

We’ll also move away from loans and permanently double non-repayable Canada Student Grants. Accessing financial support for your post-secondary education shouldn’t be a debt sentence – we’ll make sure that young people can start out in life without a crushing debt burden.