NDP Will Call Off Alliance With Liberals If No Pharmarcare Bill This Year, Singh Says

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh delivers a speech at a three-day caucus retreat in Ottawa on Jan. 18, 2023. Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he will consider calling off the alliance with the Liberals if the government doesn’t introduce and pass a bill for a universal national pharmacare program this year.

“We want to see a national framework presented in Parliament, and passed in Parliament before the end of the year,'' Singh said on Jan. 19, during the second day of his party’s caucus retreat in Ottawa.

“That’s something we fought for in the agreement, we negotiated, and we expect to be there.”

In March 2022, the NDP entered into an agreement to keep the minority Liberal government in power until 2025. In exchange for the support from the New Democrats, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at the time that his government will increase spending on health care, including establishing a national pharmacare and dental plan.

The agreement set out by the two parties says a top priority is passing “a Canada Pharmacare Act by the end of 2023” and creating a “National Drug Agency” tasked with developing a national formulary of essential medicines and bulk purchasing plan by the end of the agreement.

“If they don’t follow through with what we forced them to agree to, then we have the power or option of withdrawing our support,” Singh said.

A spokesperson for the federal minister of health told The Canadian Press that the Liberal government remains committed to pharmacare and it is working with provinces and territories on the creation of a national plan.

“We are taking significant steps towards tabling a Canada Pharmacare Act in 2023,” Guillaume Bertrand said in an email. However, he did not provide a more specific timeline.

Dental Care Expansion

Another condition for the NDP’s supply and confidence agreement with the Liberals is the launching of a dental care program for uninsured low- and middle-income families.

The agreement stipulates that the dental care program would first be delivered to children under the age of 12 years old in 2022, then expand to those under 18 years old, seniors, and persons living with a disability in 2023. A full implementation is expected by 2025. The program is limited to families with an income of less than $90,000 annually, with no co-pays for anyone under $70,000 annually in income.

Instead of a full-fledged dental program, the Liberal government last year delivered cheques directly to qualifying families, providing a benefit of up to $650 for each eligible child based on their family’s income.

Singh said at the time that the NDP would allow some flexibility on the first phase of the program, but wouldn’t bend further in the future.

He reiterated this position on Jan. 18, saying his party would also withdraw its support if the Liberals don’t expand the dental care program this year.

An agreement like that between the NDP and the Liberals generally involves an opposition party agreeing to support the ruling government on confidence motions and budget or appropriation votes for a certain period of time. Should the NDP pull out of the deal, the minority Liberal government would need to court support from the NDP or other parties on a vote-by-vote basis.

During the first day of the NDP caucus retreat, caucus chair MP Jenny Kwan said her party would continue to monitor the Liberals’ stance, and that they remain open to pulling from the deal.

“We’ll absolutely be watching very carefully to see where the government is at, and whether or not they are going to honour their word,” she said.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.