I want to highlight an incredible not-for-profit in my St. Paul’s community that I’ve met with, Cystic Fibrosis Canada. CF is the most common fatal genetic disease affecting children and young adults in Canada. Ontario has an estimated 1,500 people living with CF. There is currently no cure.

CF mainly affects the digestive system and lungs. It causes chronic lung infections which destroys lung function, and eventually leads to death for most people with CF.

The drug Trikafta has been a game-changer for people with CF. At list price, it costs approximately $300,000 per patient per year. Ontario provides the drug for free through OHIP+ to those 24 years and younger who don’t have private insurance.

However, many parents are faced with a dilemma that must be fixed: If you have private insurance that won’t cover Trikafta, your child cannot access the drug through OHIP, so you can either pay two deductibles, one for private insurance and one for the Trillium Drug Program, or remove your child from your private insurance to access the drug through OHIP, leaving your child without dental coverage, paramedical supports and other important pieces. This is a decision no family or single parent should have to make.

Cystic Fibrosis Canada is calling on the Ontario government to create a new deductible-free specialized drug program for drugs for rare diseases so all who need them can get them, and to coordinate with private insurers and drug manufacturers to immediately reduce the financial burden Ontarians face in accessing life-saving medicine.

I hope this government will listen and help save lives in my community and across the province.