Hon. Jane Cordy: Honourable senators, I would like to begin by acknowledging that I am speaking to you from the unceded land of the Algonquin and Anishinaabe peoples.

I rise today to speak in support of Canada’s pharmacare act, Bill C-64.

The bill we have before us is a result of collaboration and negotiation between Minister of Health Mark Holland and NDP Member of Parliament Peter Julian. This bill is a first step in delivering on universal single-payer pharmacare. Pharmacare has been a missing piece of the puzzle when it comes to delivering on the promise of a true universal single-payer Canadian health care system.

Bill C-64 is not perfect, but it is important. It is important for us to keep in mind that this legislation is the product of careful and sometimes difficult negotiations in the other place between parties with different views on how Canadian universal pharmacare should be established.

When the Minister of Health appeared before our committee, he emphasized this point when he said:

This is, by far — and I’ve been involved in a lot of complex things — the most difficult bit of business I’ve ever been in. Every syllable and word in this bill was debated and argued over. It is the result of really important collaboration. It was not one political party but two, with two very different views, finding a way to find common ground.

I freely acknowledge that it’s imperfect, but, in this instance, we have to be very careful of not allowing perfection to be the enemy of progress. . . .

I believe the difficulty negotiating Bill C-64 resulted in some ambiguities found in the legislation. However, colleagues, what is not ambiguous is the intent of the bill and how this bill will benefit Canadians.

Senator Omidvar shared statistics from the Conference Board of Canada, highlighting that nearly 10% of Canadians are not insured or can’t afford their premiums.

Senator Osler cited a 2022 Statistics Canada report that found that 21% of Canadians reported not having insurance to cover the costs of prescription medications.

Senator Mégie noted that in the 2019 final report of the Advisory Council on the Implementation of National Pharmacare, they found that one in five people — 7.5 million Canadians — have no drug coverage or insufficient coverage to adequately cover the cost of their medications.

Whichever statistic you choose to believe, we can agree that these are alarming numbers. Those left without affordable access to medications are some of Canada’s most financially vulnerable citizens, and these are the Canadians that will be directly and immediately impacted in a positive way once the program is delivered.

Senators, the ultimate goal here is to create a pharmacare program that truly complements our health care system by making prescription medications more accessible and affordable to Canadians from coast to coast to coast. As the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions stated in their brief, submitted to our committee:

A universal single-payer pharmacare program is not only a moral imperative but also a practical solution to improving health outcomes and financial stability for all people in Canada. . . .

Colleagues, we heard from witnesses that the list of diabetes medications and contraceptives was far from comprehensive enough, and we heard that the legislation is too limited, focusing only on diabetes and contraceptive medications and devices. I agree. That’s all true.

However, I also agree with the minister’s approach, which is to start with a focused baseline of coverage when launching a universal pharmacare program off the ground. Honourable senators, let’s get a pharmacare program started. A program of this scale and scope is no small task. It has the potential to be a great relief for Canadians from the current patchwork of public coverages and plans.

As you know, pharmacare is a provincial and territorial responsibility. Negotiations with each province and territory will be required. We have already heard that a memorandum of understanding has been signed with the Province of British Columbia, so we know that work there has already begun. I am confident that as the program becomes established, it will continue to expand and evolve. But let’s just get started.

I will be voting in favour of Bill C-64 so that all Canadians will have access to diabetes and contraceptive medications and devices.

Honourable senators, I fully support passing this bill. I believe there are too many uncertainties in the present political climate to delay this bill any longer. If you believe in universal single-payer pharmacare in our country — as I do — I feel it is incumbent on us to pass this legislation sooner rather than later. Otherwise, this opportunity may be lost for what could be another generation. Thank you.