Health Minister Mark Holland unveils bill for first phase of national pharmacare plan

Health Minister Mark Holland outlines details of the federal government’s bill (C-64) to establish the framework for the first phase of a national pharmacare plan. The first phase would provide universal, single-payer coverage for a number of contraception and diabetes medications. The Liberal government was facing a March 1 deadline to introduce the pharmacare bill as part of its confidence-and-supply agreement with the NDP. NDP health critic Don Davies, Women and Gender Equality Minister Marci Ien, and parliamentary secretary Yasir Naqvi also speak at the news conference in Ottawa.  

The minister faces questions from reporters about the recently released documents related to the 2021 firing of two scientists at the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg. He is pressed as well about the estimated cost of implementing the pharmacare plan and the intention of some provinces to opt out of the national plan. (February 29, 2024)