‘It’s a matter of fairness’: Protesters in Edmonton demand Carney deliver pharmacare to all Canadians

With the federal Liberal caucus meeting in Edmonton this week, public health advocates and Albertans with pharmacy bills rallied outside of the Westin Hotel in downtown Edmonton Tuesday, calling on the Liberal government to act on pharmacare promise.

The push to shame the Liberal government came with chants like “What do want? pharmacare, when do we want it? now!” and billboards along Highway 2 that read, “welcome Liberal caucus. Keep your pharmacare promise.”

The protesters, including Friends of Medicare and the Canadian Health Coalition, want Prime Minister Mark Carney to immediately uphold a Liberal promise to deliver a pharmacare plan that covers contraceptives and diabetes care for all Canadians.

It’s been about a year since the Pharmacare Act passed in Ottawa, but only people in British Columbia, Manitoba, Prince Edward Island, and the Yukon are covered.

“What we know is that there is an affordability crisis. A lot of people can’t afford their medications,” said Friends of Medicare Executive Director Chris Gallaway.  

“We hear stories of people choosing between rent and medication, of people rationing glucose monitoring strips and insulin because they can’t get through the month. And that is not acceptable.”

Lesley Thompson, who was at the rally, has been living with Type 1 diabetes for 30 years.

She says pharmacare in Alberta will save her about $500 every month because testing strips and insulin are expensive.

“If I start rationing it, I am not taking good care of myself, I am going to end up in the hospital. I’m going to cost (the health system) more money. This pharmacare program is more than a policy, it means living a healthy life,” Thompson said.

But a spokesperson for the federal health minister said the government will not commit to more pharmacare. Instead the government is monitoring the four agreements that are already in place.

“The economic context has changed since the previous government launched its pharmacare program and offered all provinces and territories the opportunity to negotiate agreements,” Federal Health Minister Marjorie Michel’s office told CityNews.

“Our new government will always defend Canada’s universal health care system, including protecting the Canadian Dental Care Plan and honouring existing pharmacare agreements.”

But Albertans and public health advocates argue that this is unacceptable.

“Folks in Alberta and Saskatchewan don’t have the same access to diabetes and contraceptive medications as folks in B.C. and Manitoba and PEI. It’s a matter of fairness and it’s a matter of keeping their promises to voters,” added Gallaway.

A spokesperson for Alberta says the government was not consulted on the national Pharmacare Act and they have concerns about ballooning costs. Instead, Alberta wants Ottawa to help them improve existing provincial drug programs.

“While Ottawa originally committed $1.5 billion over five years to cover contraceptives and diabetes medications, it has already committed more than $900 million to just three provinces—raising serious concerns about the program’s long-term sustainability,” said a statement from the Ministry of Primary and Preventative Health Services.

“Alberta has some of the most comprehensive public drug programs in the country, covering over 5000 drugs, and we intend to maintain our current benefit offerings. The federal government can assist us in enhancing our current offerings by not adding duplicate programs or creating unnecessary and costly administrative burdens.”

People at the rally say they will keep the pressure on until Prime Minister Mark Carney delivers on his promise.