| Asarial,
Imagine needing an essential medication for your health — but knowing that paying for it will mean you can’t afford your groceries. This is the reality for millions of people who are suffering because they can’t afford their medicines. 1 in 5 Canadians don’t have any prescription drug coverage at all. [1] Here’s the thing — we’ve never been closer to winning a universal pharmacare program, which would guarantee essential medicines to everyone. The Liberals and the NDP are in negotiations right now over pharmacare – and the NDP has said they’ll walk away from their supply and confidence agreement unless a deal is reached. [2] But the Liberals are waffling. They’re being lobbied heavily by Big Pharma who want to weaken the bill and protect their profits. [3] And according to Jagmeet Singh, negotiating with them has been like “wrestling eels covered in oil.” The public can give the Liberals the push they need. Trudeau’s government is under tremendous pressure to show that they’re addressing the cost of living crisis for all Canadians. Asarial, if thousands of us call on Justin Trudeau and Health Minister Mark Holland, we could convince them to pass a pharmacare bill that ensures equal access to medication for everyone. If passed, universal pharmacare could be the greatest advancement in expanding our public healthcare system in the last 30 years. In fact, it was a Liberal minority government supported by the NDP that passed the Medical Care Act of 1966, a foundational bill that shaped our current public healthcare system, to ensure it’s free for everyone to visit a doctor. [4] So why aren’t prescriptions the same? Big Pharma has successfully squashed previous attempts to establish a pharmacare program — they want us divided so they can continue making money off of us when we’re sick. At Leadnow, we believe everyone should have access to essential healthcare and medicine, no matter what you look like, or how much money you have in the bank. In a single-payer, universal pharmacare program, the government would buy medicines in bulk, potentially saving the public purse $2.2 billion dollars — and change the lives of millions who are struggling to afford their life-saving medicines. [5,6] This is a chance to make the history books — but only if we push the government to do it. Will you add your name now calling on Prime Minister Trudeau and Health Minister Mark Holland to make sure everyone can afford life-saving medicines? In solidarity, Sources: |
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