Health Minister Mark Holland speaks in the foyer of the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on June 3. Holland says he hopes to see Canadians have access to birth control and diabetes medication through the federal pharmacare program by April 1 next year.Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press
Federally funded contraceptive and diabetes medications will be made available to Canadians by April next year, the Health Minister says, marking the first time Ottawa has set a timeline for the launch of a national pharmacare program.
In February, Mark Holland put forward the Pharmacare Act, and the House of Commons passed the legislation on June 3. The bill is now in the Senate, where a committee will study it before holding a final vote that is expected this fall.
“My objective is to see every province, every territory – by April 1 of next year – see these drugs flowing. That’s my goal,” Mr. Holland said Wednesday on Parliament Hill.
The bill was the result of protracted talks between the federal NDP and the Liberals. Pharmacare is a key part of the supply-and-confidence agreement between the two parties.
The legislation says the minister may – if an agreement has been reached to do so – make payments to a province or territory in order to increase any existing public pharmacare coverage, as well as to provide “universal single-payer” coverage for specific prescription drugs and related products intended for contraception or the treatment of diabetes.
Senator Kim Pate, a member of the Independent Senators Group, is urging her chamber to pass the bill as an “urgent priority” and deliver on a long-awaited pharmacare program.
Mr. Holland said officials are discussing how to create agreements and to ensure deals can be signed immediately after the bill becomes law to allow for drugs to be rolled out.
NDP House Leader Peter Julian, said his party believes summer is the time to put all conditions in place to move ahead once the bill becomes law. He said lives could be saved with pharmacare.
The federal budget tabled in April though shows that the Liberals were only expecting the majority of the spending in the pharmacare program to roll out in 2026, rather than 2025.
The budget only allots $121-million for the program next year. In 2026-27, that ramps up to $358-million, followed by $477-million for each of the two subsequent years.
Prince Edward Island’s Department of Health and Wellness said Wednesday that it is interested in taking part in the national pharmacare program, while Nova Scotia said it is still seeking additional information. Saskatchewan’s health ministry said it looks forward to understanding if and how a pharmacare program could enhance existing drug benefits.
Alberta Health Minister Adriana LaGrange said her province wants to work with Ottawa to enhance its existing program that already covers drugs including contraceptive medications and different diabetes drugs. Quebec says it will exercise its right to withdraw from the pharmacare plan.
Hannah Jensen, a spokesperson for Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones, said the province looks forward to further conversations with Ottawa.
B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix said in an interview that his province has all of the information it needs, that it has teams in place and that “we’re ready to go the second the federal government wants to come to the table.” Last year, the province had become the first to cover prescription contraception.
Emily Coutts, a spokesperson for Manitoba Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara, said the province is keen to see details of the federal program but plans to move ahead “regardless of a federal timeline.” The Manitoba government had announced a universal birth control program last fall.