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Context: House Hansard - 314 - May/21/24

May/29/24 11:07:59 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I think the fund is established specifically for that purpose. It is going to vary province to province, but what I want to see for those in need who are in income insecure situations is that we have the ability to do that. Now that I have a chance, I will go back to the other issue. One thing to note about sexual health and contraceptives is that we are having conversations in the pharma space, like the one I am having with Manitoba, because it is really taking leadership there, to see how we can spread and increase the action around sexual health. To me, that certainly includes action on AIDS.

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Context: House Hansard - 313 - May/10/24

May/21/24 3:12:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for her important work on this issue. We share the goal of ensuring that everyone across the country can access the medication they need. This is essential. I have a very simple question for the vast majority of Conservative Party members who oppose abortion. Why do they also oppose access to contraceptives? The only answer is that these members oppose women's rights in general.

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May/10/24 10:36:32 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I will be frank: Canadians across the country are just not interested in that argument. They have critical needs that need to be met, and we have to work collaboratively to do it. Canada has a responsibility to maintain and protect the Canada Health Act. The Canada Health Act is a matter of absolute federal jurisdiction, and the idea that we would abdicate the field and let our health system deteriorate and fall apart makes me wonder what the real argument is. If the member was not listening when I was talking about the difference between oral contraceptives' having a 9% failure rate versus an IUD at 0.2%, how could she talk to a woman who does not have the dollars about why she would—

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May/6/24 3:47:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the answer, of course, is no, and that point is not grounded in any kind of reality. There is no plan. I used to be the head of Heart and Stroke, and we would negotiate benefit agreements. They cannot say, “Oh, there are two drugs and now people are going to cancel the rest of their medical coverage.” That is a preposterous notion that is not rooted in anything resembling reality. What really would happen is that people would have choice. What does that mean? Let me be very clear, and put the question back to the member. For somebody in the member's riding who does not have the money for contraception, why should they be limited to the choice they can afford, which has a 9% failure rate, when there is something available to them that has a 0.2% failure rate? Why should somebody who has less money not have access to the contraceptive medicine they need to have choice and autonomy over their own body? I can tell the member that I have had direct conversations with Minister Asagwara. We are ready to work together to deliver this in the same way that we are working together to create dental care. It is fine if the Conservatives want to vote against it. If they do not think those people should have access to contraceptive drugs, then that is fair. They are allowed to have that position and to go and defend it. However, they should not try, with misinformation and blocking in the House, to sabotage the ability of somebody to get dental care or contraceptives. Let us have a debate rooted in reality. The reality is that there is an enormous need. This bill would make sure that everybody would get exactly what they need and would not be left in a position without the critical medication that they require.

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May/6/24 3:44:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this is a concrete proposal to move pharmacare forward in this country. The drugs are two classes of drugs. They represent more than 80 different medical drugs that deal specifically with diabetes and contraceptives. It is part of a broader suite of actions that we are taking, such as, for example, drugs for rare diseases. I am currently having conversations with every province and territory about how we can take action on drugs for rare diseases so that folks with rare diseases can get access to the medications they need. It is part of what we have done on bulk purchasing to realize $300 million in savings for Canadians across the country. It also builds on the work that we are doing with a pilot in P.E.I., where we have been able to get copays down to five dollars there, saving seniors hundreds and hundreds of dollars in P.E.I. Action is taken one step at a time by demonstrating in evidence exactly what is going to be saved and exactly how this should function. As an example, in British Columbia, when it comes to contraceptives, it already shows that the province is saving more than it costs to run the program. I suspect we will also see that in diabetes. Canadians, rightfully, want to see this in evidence. They want to see these things live out there, demonstrate how they work in each example and then build on that successively. Our health care system was based on an iterative process by making sure that the steps we take are prudent, smart and fiscally responsible, and that is the way that we need to proceed with pharmacare as well.

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May/6/24 3:41:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I think it really is reprehensible to see the backward movement we are seeing over women's reproductive health and rights, where their autonomy over their own bodies is being called into question. Let me make it very clear, as Minister of Health, that we will do everything in our power to make sure that women have full power and autonomy over their bodies. That is a fundamental freedom. That includes their reproductive futures. In many of these instances is an inability to have real conversations about sex and about whether a woman should have the autonomy to make a choice about the way in which she makes decisions with her body. It is absolutely unacceptable in this country. When we take something like contraceptives, such as a condom, that have a failure rate of about 9%, and an IUD, which has a failure rate of 0.2%, how could people, first of all, have the position that they are going to tell a woman what she does with her body and then, secondly, try to block her ability to get reproductive technologies so that she does not wind up with an unwanted pregnancy? Those things, to me, seem to be diametrically opposed. If one was opposed to abortion, if one was opposed to a woman being able to make that choice over her body, it would seem to me that one would at least stand up and support her ability to get reproductive medicine. For me, it is extremely disturbing that this is any kind of debate in this country. Everywhere in this country, every woman should be told that she has autonomy over her body and that she has access to the medication she needs. That is fundamentally what this bill is about, in part. I am sure we will get an opportunity to talk about diabetes as well.

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Context: House Hansard - 288 - Feb/29/24

May/6/24 2:29:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let me state clearly and unequivocally that every woman, in every part of the country, must have access to the oral contraceptives she needs to have control over her reproductive future. Any party that stands in the way of that is standing in the way of the basic freedom for women in our country to have autonomy over their body. I would ask the Conservative Party of Canada to stop blocking this so that women can get the reproductive aids they need to have control over their reproductive future.

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Context: House Hansard - 288 - Feb/29/24

Feb/29/24 2:59:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, this year, for the first time in the country's history, anyone with diabetes and anyone who need contraceptives will get what they need. This is such a historic announcement. It is going to make a difference for a huge number of people across the country, even in Quebec. Yesterday, I had a good conversation with Minister Dubé about this. I am sure we can reach an agreement with Quebec as well.

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