Time for Poilievre to join a constructive pharmacare conversation

Green Party Leader Elizabeth May has joined the pharmacare debate with some sound policy points that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh ought to take seriously. In her recent op-ed in The Hill Times, May argues that the universal, single-payer model of pharmacare is good, but needs to go further. She wants it to be single-buyer as well. May notes that in addition to savings and negotiating leverage for bulk purchase, a single-buyer like the federal government would elevate the ethics of drug companies. She is likely referring to Big Pharma’s profiteering and corruption that gave Canada the opioid crisis. Bhagwant Sandhu is a retired director general from the federal government. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade While the merits of her argument can be contested, May must be recognized for adding valuable insights to the policy debate. That, frankly, does not happen often these days. Our political culture has deteriorated to a circus of catcalls and showboating performances. So, good on May for her fresh ideas, and the straight and sincere tone of her intervention. Good also on Singh for getting the pharmacare legislation actioned in the first place. Done right, it could be as important to Canada’s identity as it is to its citizens’ pocketbooks. And, if all the political leaders follow May’s lead, it may even put a dent in the rotting character of our national politics. Above all, pharmacare makes good policy sense. Supporting May’s thesis, the Patent Medicine Prices Review Board has shown that between 2012 and 2021 pharmaceuticals sales in Canada increased by 56.4 per cent to reach $34.1-billion. The Canadian Institute for Health Information estimates that at 14 per cent, procurement of prescription drugs is the second-biggest expenditure of our health-care dollars. These dollars do not be ploughed back into our economy. They only enrich investment houses and overseas corporations. According to Statistics Canada, in 2022, drug manufacturing in Canada produced an average of only 33,000 jobs, a total that increased by 11 per cent over the previous five years. Investments in research and development have been static, at roughly around $922-million in 2021, the same they were at in 2012. Drug imports, meanwhile, have surged by 55 per cent between 2018 and 2022. Most Canadians think this is a giant rip-off. They support pharmacare. Some politicians, however, do not. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, for instance, is worried about costs, but not in the way May is. Like a lot of his like-minded think-tank friends, he seems to be driven dogmatically to cut taxes, not necessarily to get their best dollar value. Poilievre should review the survey by the Canadian Cancer Society. It found that one in five Canadians don’t have enough drug coverage, and more than one in four have had to make a distressing choice between affording prescription drugs, or cutting back on groceries and delaying utility bills. While drug prices have been skyrocketing, household incomes and wages have remained stagnant. He should also look at the 2022 report by Randall Bartlett of the University of Ottawa’s Institute of Fiscal Studies and Democracy. Bartlett found that at $1,012 per capita outlay for prescription drugs, Canada ranks third in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries after the United States and Switzerland. The per capita average in the OECD is $709, a far cry from Canada’s overpayments. May’s notion of a highly leveraged single-buyer of bulk purchases suddenly makes a lot of good sense. That’s half of the equation. The other is to cut down on consumption. Most prescriptions are filled by Canadians aged 65 and older for ailments related to diabetes, autoimmunity, and arthritis. By 2068, one in four of us will join the over-65 age demographic. In a perfect world, Poilievre would link forces with May and push the government to introduce preventative care programs for dietary habits, mental health care, and seniors housing. Among other things, they could insist that the Safe Long-Term Care Act gets fast-tracked. It is urgently needed as any senior who survived COVID-19 will testify. In his book Who enters politics and why? James Weinberg, a political science professor at the University of Sheffield, observes that despite public opinion on the matter, politicians are, on the whole, motivated by the ideals of equality, justice, and compassion. He contends that, comparatively, politicians are also more altruistic and empathetic than the voters they represent. This detail often gets forgotten in the tight constraints of performative politics and unrestrained hyperbole. Pharmacare can give us a respite from that. Despite the constant allure of electoral opportunity, politics is ultimately about priorities and choices. With pharmacare, May and Singh have done their part as responsible opposition critics. Now it’s Poilievre’s turn. He should break out of the mold of his pigeon-holed persona and add some tangible value to the policy discussion on pharmacare. But he needs to act fast. He risks being left behind in the proverbial ash heap of history as Singh, Trudeau, and May—like the old architects of medicare—take their place in the annals of Canadian history, to be remembered as thoughtful politicians who shaped our national character. Bhagwant Sandhu is a retired director general from the federal public service. He also held executive positions with the governments of Ontario and British Columbia. The Hill Times

Time for Poilievre to join a constructive pharmacare conversation

Green Party Leader Elizabeth May and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh have done their part as responsible opposition critics on this policy. Now it’s Pierre Poilievre’s turn.

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Time for Poilievre to join a constructive pharmacare conversation

Green Party Leader Elizabeth May and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh have done their part as responsible opposition critics on this policy. Now it’s Pierre Poilievre’s turn.

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