The Canadian government announced on Saturday March 30 its desire to make prescription contraceptives completely free.
The “most common” contraceptives, such as the IUD (hormonal or copper), the hormonal implant, the contraceptive pill or the morning-after pill, will be covered for nine million Canadian women, the Deputy Prime Minister said. Minister of Finance, Chrystia Freeland, during a press conference at a pharmacy in Toronto, Ontario.
“Women should be free to choose the contraception they need without cost being a barrier. So we make them free,” added Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Platform go up to 500 Canadian dollars per unit, specifies the government.
Some provinces do not wish to participate in the program
This announcement details the first part of the bill presented at the end of February which, once implemented, will mark the largest expansion of the public health system in decades. The plan will notably include coverage for diabetes medications, such as insulin, for “more than 3.7 million Canadians.” However, the cost and associated deadlines have not been revealed.
The federal government must now obtain the agreement of the provinces, responsible for health, for the implementation of this program. However, some – notably Alberta and Quebec – have already announced that they do not wish to participate in the plan.
This “pharmacare” plan follows lengthy negotiations between Justin Trudeau’s minority Liberal government and its left-wing ally in Parliament. The New Democratic Party (NDP) had conditioned its support on the implementation of this program.
