A group of grassroots NDP activists is planning to make pharmacare a crucial element of the federal party’s supply-and-confidence deal with the Liberals at an upcoming policy convention.
The NDP has agreed to support the minority Liberals on key votes in exchange for progress on shared priorities, including pharmacare.
These activists are submitting an emergency resolution that states the future of the deal depends on legislation committing to a universal and entirely public pharmacare program. They hope this resolution will be debated during the convention in Hamilton.
The group, known as Stand Strong For Pharmacare, has created a website for delegates to encourage them to take a strong stance on the policy and hold the Liberals accountable to their agreement.
“Our NDP convention resolution would make it clear that if (Prime Minister) Justin Trudeau breaks his promise for universal, comprehensive, and public pharmacare, it will have consequences,” states the website.
The resolution comes after NDP health critic Don Davies revealed that the party rejected the Liberal government’s initial draft of a pharmacare bill expected to be introduced this fall.
“It doesn’t meet the New Democrats’ requirements at this point,” said Davies in an interview this week. “We’re waiting for the next draft to be presented to us.”
Davies emphasized that the NDP will only accept a commitment to pharmacare that is funded and administered through the public single-payer system.
The group, led by James Brunet, the president of the Ottawa South provincial NDP, is urging members to voice their support for the party’s fight for pharmacare, even if it means risking an election.
Health Minister Mark Holland stated that discussions with the NDP are ongoing and the situation is still evolving.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh’s chief of staff, Jennifer Howard, anticipates that there will be extensive debates about the supply-and-confidence agreement at the convention.
“I think there’s a lot of concern about the Liberals trying to backtrack on the agreement regarding pharmacare. I believe this will be a topic of debate on the convention floor,” said Howard on Friday.
The deadline for submitting resolutions for the convention was in August, but news of the ongoing negotiations over pharmacare legislation has only recently emerged.
Emergency resolutions, submitted after the deadline due to urgent and unforeseen circumstances, are reviewed by the convention’s policy development committee to determine if they can be presented.
If approved, the pharmacare resolution will likely be discussed on the last day of the NDP convention.
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