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Hon. Arif Virani

Member of Parliament
Minister of Justice Attorney General of Canada
Liberal

Parkdale—High Park
Ontario
Voting Attendance: 64%
Expenses Last Quarter: $120,537.19

Government Page

Context: House Hansard - 316 - May/23/24

May/23/24 10:00:02 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, first of all, with respect to medical assistance in dying, I am already listening to the concerns, wishes and hopes of the Government of Quebec. Second, so far, we have always taken a national approach to medical assistance in dying when it comes to changes to the Criminal Code and laws on murder that are affected by any changes in this area. I would also like to point out that we already have a panel of medical experts and health care officials who have looked at what needs to be done and what needs to be protected in the case of advance requests.

105 words

Context: House Hansard - 315 - May/22/24

Hon. Arif Virani

May/22/24 5:24:03 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for offering a substantive question and comment to this debate. We have an agreement that there are health care needs that relate to medication. That is useful progress. I would say that there is a need for proceeding in this context with this very particular piece of legislation because the program is not meant to be a checkerboard where it is done on a bilateral basis, province by province. It is meant to be national, covering all 10 provinces and all three territories. That is the first very important point. The second very important point is that the very pressing issue the member raised about oncological medications for cancer treatment is something that deserves to be discussed and debated. By starting incrementally, we are finally opening the door towards pharmacare in this country as an important expansion of our medical care system. Through the Canada drug agency, the new formulary and the expert recommendations that would follow, we would learn more about whether oncological drugs should be the next salvo in expanding this envelope.

180 words

Context: House Hansard - 315 - May/22/24

Hon. Arif Virani

May/22/24 5:12:42 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, I have several responses. First, there has been 10 hours of debate thus far. Second, this is not just about contraception and diabetes. It is also about establishing, within 30 days of royal assent, a committee of experts to make recommendations to the minister regarding the operation and financing of a national universal single-payer pharmacare. Are we proceeding incrementally at the start? Absolutely we are. With respect to the financing component, that member is from the Saanich—Gulf Islands. In her own province, the estimate on the financial savings to the system just in B.C., from a UBC study, is that no-cost contraception has the potential to save the B.C. health care system approximately $27 million per year. As I said earlier, and I will say again, there is an ethical case for proceeding with pace. There is also a financial case for proceeding with pace.

153 words

Context: House Hansard - 315 - May/22/24

Hon. Arif Virani (Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, Lib.)

May/22/24 5:04:23 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, the proposed programming motion contemplates several hours of committee study. What is also important for the House to understand and for Canadians who are watching to understand is that when we are talking about pharmacare and a precedential expansion of the medical system envelope provided in this country, we are talking about a significant feature that will help promote better health care outcomes, more equality for Canadians and specifically give women reproductive rights and reproductive control over their bodies through the provision of free contraception.

87 words

Context: House Hansard - 280 - Feb/12/24

Hon. Arif Virani (Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, Lib.)

Feb/12/24 2:27:25 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, from day one, we have been treating medical assistance in dying with care. We are trying to balance the autonomy and dignity of the individual with protecting vulnerable populations. We have adopted a prudent approach from day one. We owe it to Canadians and Quebeckers to address these issues in a thoughtful way and to proceed with caution. We will do that.

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Minister of Justice Attorney General of Canada

Hon. Arif Virani