44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 6, 2024 11:00AM
- May/6/24 2:20:31 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I understand that the situation is difficult for renters and those who do not have any housing solutions.
That is why the government is holding discussions and negotiations to reach an agreement with Quebec to build affordable housing. With the money from the federal government, Quebec will be able to build up to 8,000 affordable housing units.
The Conservative Party's position is to oppose that. That is not good.
We are working with our colleagues in Quebec to build affordable housing.
86 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/6/24 2:53:16 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to be able to talk about housing with my colleague from Chicoutimi—Le Fjord. In his riding alone, 180 affordable housing units have been created in recent months. This is extraordinary. I congratulate him on that outcome.
The only problem here is that perhaps he could speak with his Conservative leader to ask him why, during his entire mandate as minister responsible for housing, he created only six affordable housing units across the entire country.
I am very happy for the member, but it may not have been the brightest choice to make a comparison with his leader's record.
107 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/6/24 6:34:35 p.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, I have stood many times in the House to say how wonderful it was and is to raise children in Quebec. There is access to many programs that are not available across the rest of the country. I have spoken before about the access to swimming lessons, diving lessons and sports, which are all affordable and accessible in Quebec. Everyone should have access to those types of life-changing and family-changing opportunities. I think there is always a way for the Bloc to come and want that for everyone in Canada.
94 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Cost has consistently been identified as the single most important barrier to accessing contraception and the cost is unevenly borne by women, people with low incomes and young people, all of whom are more likely to work in part-time or contract positions and often lack access to private coverage. Studies have demonstrated that publicly funded, no-cost universal access to contraception can lead to public cost savings. The University of British Columbia estimates that no-cost contraception has the potential to save the B.C. health care system approximately $27 million per year. Having safe, reliable birth control represents freedom and safety. However, these costs continue to be a barrier. With Bill C-64, we are taking action to remove the barrier.
The same cost reduction principle applies to diabetes medication. Diabetes is a complex disease that can be treated and managed with safe, effective medication.
However, one in four Canadians with diabetes have reported not following their treatment plan due to cost. Improving access to diabetes medications will help improve the health of 3.7 million Canadians living with diabetes and reduce the risk of serious, life-changing health complications, such as blindness or amputations.
Beyond helping people with managing their diabetes and living healthier lives, if left untreated or poorly managed, diabetes can lead to high and unnecessary costs to the health care system due to diabetes and its complications, including heart attack, stroke and kidney failure. The full cost of diabetes to the health care system could exceed almost $40 billion by 2028.
Independent of the legislation, we have announced that we will work with provinces and territories on a diabetes devices fund. This fund would ensure that people with diabetes have access to the medical devices and supplies they need, such as syringes, test strips, glucose monitoring devices and insulin pumps. This, combined with the framework outlined in Bill C-64 for universal single-payer coverage for first-line diabetes medications, will help ensure that no person with diabetes in Canada is forced to ration their medication or compromise their treatment.
I previously mentioned our excellent work with P.E.I. and how this $35-million investment is focused on improving affordable access to prescription drugs while at the same time informing the advancement of a national universal pharmacare. The work accomplished by Prince Edward Island has been outstanding. Since last year, P.E.I. has expanded access to over 100 medications to treat a variety of conditions, including heart disease, pulmonary arterial hypertension, multiple sclerosis and cancer, and is saving millions of dollars in out-of-pocket costs for P.E.I. residents.
On a national level, we launched the first-ever national strategy for drugs for rare diseases in March 2023, with an investment of up to $1.5 billion over three years.
As part of the overall investment of $1.5 billion, we are making up to $1.4 billion available to the provinces and territories over three years through bilateral agreements.
This funding will help to improve access to new and emerging drugs for Canadians with rare diseases as well as support enhanced access to existing drugs, early diagnosis and screening for rare diseases. This will help ensure patients with rare diseases have access to treatment as early as possible for a better quality of life.
I want to quickly mention that, in December of last year, we announced the creation of the Canadian drug agency, which will provide the dedicated leadership and coordination needed to help make Canada's drug system more sustainable and better prepared for the future.
This is an incredible opportunity for Canadians coast to coast to coast, working alongside provinces and territories, to allow for pharmacare, especially when it comes to contraception and diabetes. This is the beginning of building a more robust health care system that will work for all Canadians. I am excited to support this bill, and I encourage all my colleagues to do the same.
665 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/6/24 9:24:43 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I really appreciate this opportunity and all opportunities to speak in the House on behalf of the residents of Hamilton Mountain, particularly with respect to this very important piece of legislation, which is necessary to help millions of Canadians who are struggling to pay for their prescription medications.
We have heard lots about access to and the affordability of prescription drugs in Canada. Statistics Canada data from 2021 indicates that one in five Canadians reported not having insurance to cover the cost of prescription medication in the previous 12 months. The same Statistics Canada data also found that a higher proportion of new Canadians reported not having prescription drug insurance coverage. Having no prescription insurance coverage was associated with higher out-of-pocket spending and higher non-adherence to prescriptions because of cost. This results in some Canadians' having to choose between paying for these medications and paying for other basic necessities such as food and housing. We likely all know someone who is struggling with this issue. Members may know someone, or maybe have heard stories about a person with diabetes who does not have insurance coverage through work and has to pay for their insulin, syringes and test strips out of pocket; a student who had insurance coverage up to a certain age through their parents and then lost that coverage; or a cancer patient who does have insurance but is still not covered under their plan for the type of medication they need to treat their cancer.
That is why we have introduced legislation based on the principles of accessibility, affordability, appropriateness and universality. These principles will help guide ongoing efforts to advance the implementation of national pharmacare. We need pharmacare that helps make prescription drugs more accessible. This includes improving the consistency of access to drug coverage and needed medications across the country. We also need pharmacare that helps make prescription drugs affordable. This includes reducing financial barriers for Canadians, such as deductibles and copays. Additionally, we need pharmacare that helps ensure that the prescription drugs that people are taking are appropriate. This includes getting the right drug to the right patient at the right time to support their physical and mental well-being. Finally, we need pharmacare that is universal. This means we need to work to ensure that the principles of accessibility, affordability, and the appropriate use of prescription drugs are applicable to all Canadians, regardless of where they live.
These pharmacare principles align with the work that is already being done on national pharmacare. This work includes our partnership with Prince Edward Island with respect to the improving affordable access to prescription drugs initiative, our implementation of the first-ever national strategy for drugs for rare diseases and the recent announcement of the creation of a Canadian drug agency. Going forward, these principles would be reflected in the upcoming bilateral agreements for universal coverage of contraception and diabetes medications.
Let me spend a moment to explain how those principles are already being put into action. On August 11, 2021, the Government of Canada announced it would work with the Government of P.E.I. to improve affordable access to prescription drugs and inform the advancement of national universal pharmacare by providing $35 million over four years to add new drugs to its list of covered drugs and lower out-of-pocket expenses for drugs covered under existing public plans for island residents.
As of December 2023, P.E.I. has expanded access to over 100 new medications to treat a variety of conditions, including heart disease, pulmonary arterial hypertension, multiple sclerosis, psoriasis and cancer. In addition, effective June 1, 2023, P.E.I. reduced copays to $5 for almost 60% of medications regularly used by island residents. I am pleased to share that, through this initiative, within the first three months, P.E.I. residents have saved over $2 million in out-of-pocket costs on more than 200,000 prescriptions.
As of July 1, 2023, P.E.I. also made adjustments to the catastrophic drug program, lowering the cap on the amount of money a household needs to spend out of pocket on eligible medications. As a result, no eligible P.E.I. household will have to spend more than 6.5% of their household income on eligible medications. Once that 6.5% cap has been reached, eligible medication costs for the remainder of the year will be paid by the program. As members can see, this collaboration is already creating more affordable access to needed medications for island residents.
On a national level, we have launched the first-ever national strategy for drugs for rare diseases in March 2023, with an investment of up to $1.5 billion over three years. Most of this investment will be going to provinces and territories through bilateral agreements to improve access to new and emerging drugs for Canadians with rare diseases, as well as support enhanced access to existing drugs, early diagnosis and screening for rare diseases.
Similarly, we are providing $33 million over three years to support first nations and Inuit patients with rare diseases, and $68 million is being invested in various initiatives to support collaborative governance, data infrastructure and research for drugs for rare diseases.
Through this, the government will help increase access to and affordability of effective drugs for rare diseases to improve the health of patients across Canada. These principles will be further demonstrated and reflected in the next step of national pharmacare outlined in this bill, which describes our intent to work with provinces and territories to provide universal, single-payer coverage for a number of contraception and diabetes medications.
In addition, and separately from the bill, we will also create a fund for diabetes devices and supplies. This fund will be rolled out to support access to diabetes devices such as continuous glucose monitors, insulin pumps, syringes and test strips. This new coverage, to be delivered by provinces and territories that enter into a bilateral agreement, provides an excellent opportunity to see the principles of affordability, accessibility, appropriateness and universality at work. Canadians, no matter where they live or how much they earn, will be able to receive the contraception and diabetes medications they need. In turn, Canadians will be healthier, empowered to make important life decisions and will not have to skip doses due to the cost of these two types of essential medications.
In closing, we will continue to work on national pharmacare initiatives that include the principles of accessibility, affordability, appropriateness and universality laid out in this bill, because Canadians need national pharmacare that embodies these principles. We look forward to working with all parliamentarians to pass the pharmacare act so that these principles will continue to guide our ongoing efforts to advance the implementation of national pharmacare.
1136 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- menumenu
- notificationsnotifications
- home
- mailmail
- searchsearch
