- Member of Parliament
- Minister of Health
- Liberal
- Ajax
- Ontario
- Voting Attendance: 64%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $134,982.00
- Government Page
Madam Chair, first of all, for Dylan and Kim, I appreciate the member's advocacy. I cannot imagine how difficult that circumstance is, and that is exactly what we want to shut down. This is precisely why we are acting on pharmacare.
One very important question we have is about which model to use. We have a pilot in P.E.I. that is working very well, which is based on a fill-in-the-gaps model. The model that Bill C-64 is based on is a universal model. We are now looking at those two models in a real-world setting to see which one is best to use as a delivery mechanism for all drugs. We have a committee that will be looking at that over the next year, which will really paint that path forward.
These are very active matters of consideration, and this is one of the reasons it is so important that we establish that bedrock, which is the legislative foundation for pharmacare in Bill C-64, and take this action. In this way, we can make sure that we get to help families such as that of Dylan and Kim. That is envisioned in Bill C-64, and very much in my heart and in my mind as we are working on this.
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- May/29/24 11:11:30 p.m.
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Madam Chair, given the level of specificity, perhaps the member could send me the details and I can get back to him directly. I want to be precise and I want to dig into the specific circumstances that relate to that exact drug. It is a very fair question. I want to do that for both him and Noor.
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- May/29/24 10:27:43 p.m.
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Madam Chair, drugs for rare diseases are under a separate action, and that money is available: $1.5 billion will be spent.
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- May/29/24 8:47:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the good news is that the bill will be headed out of the House very soon. I hope it is going to get out of the Senate soon. It is my expectation that it would be certainly this year that we would see the first drugs flowing. It really would depend on how fast we can get royal assent, but I want—
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- May/21/24 3:08:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, on the first order, if we are going to have safe hospitals, we have to provide science-based, evidence-based information and not support misinformation, because, too often in our hospitals, it is actually misinformation that is fuelling much of the aggression that our doctors and nurses are facing.
Secondly, I would say to the member opposite, with regard to the health committee going and listening to people on the ground in British Columbia and hearing directly from those affected by this toxic drug crisis, why were the Conservatives not there?
Why did they not send anybody to listen? Why are they not actually on the ground listening to the people who are suffering in this crisis?
It is time to act on solutions and evidence.
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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 2:30:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is a question of freedom. Women across the country will have access to the contraceptive drugs they need for their body and their freedom. I wonder why the Conservative Party is blocking the bill that will provide drugs not just to women, but also to diabetics.
It is time to take action. It is time to ensure that there is true freedom for women across the country. It is time to stop blocking legislation.
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- Feb/27/24 2:29:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, there is a bill coming up in the House of Commons that will give us an opportunity to lower drug prices and improve access to drugs. I hope all members of the House will support this bill.
It is important not to criticize something that does not yet exist. Let us wait until the bill is introduced.
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- Feb/5/24 2:27:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, of course, we share the member's objective to reduce drug prices for Canadians and to make sure that we have a competitive and fair environment in Canada. We are working together on pharmacare legislation. I look forward to continuing those conversations.
Of course, Canada, by engaging in bulk purchasing, has seen a reduction of about $300 million in the cost of drugs for Canadians across the country. With many countries looking at how they can emulate that kind of practice to reduce drug prices in their countries, we are going to continue to do everything we can.
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- Oct/16/23 2:54:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we definitely need to reduce the cost of prescription drugs across the country. Thanks to our government's efforts, we have been able to reduce the cost of prescription drugs by nearly $3.5 billion by buying prescription drugs with the provinces and territories. We also worked with all our partners to find a way forward for the future. We certainly worked with all members here in the House to reduce the cost of prescription drugs.
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- Oct/5/23 2:36:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, together we have made huge progress in reducing drug costs for Canadians. By working together on bulk purchasing, $3.5 billion less is now spent by Canadians by reducing those costs. We need to and must do much more. That is why we are continuing to work, not only with the party opposite, the New Democrats, but also with all parties, with a strategy on rare diseases and with the introduction of legislation on pharmacare. Together, we can make sure that Canadians are not faced with the impossible choice of essentials or the medicine they need.
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