Pharmacare program takes centre stage at Liberal convention
HALIFAX — As the federal Liberals start their search for the big ideas that will fuel their re-election campaign next year, their policy convention in Halifax this weekend has made at least one thing clear: Pharmacare is front of mind.
Even before delegates voted the creation of a universal pharmacare program as their top priority, it was clearly the policy that generated the most excitement on the convention floor.
The Liberals know they face a challenge in the 2019 election. Burdened with the baggage of governing — and having broken some of their promises — how can they rekindle the “Real Change” energy and optimism that was so successful in 2015?
“We (won) by having the courage to present new ideas to Canadians about the economy, about how to create good middle-class jobs in the 21st century,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a campaign-style speech Saturday at the convention.
But he closed with an acknowledgment that new ideas are needed once again.
“We have every right to be proud of our accomplishments as a movement and as a country,” he said. “But it didn’t happen by accident and it won’t continue without effort.”
The Liberal delegates — particularly the party’s youth wing, represented by nearly a quarter of the 3,000 registered to attend — used the convention to push a roster of progressive policy resolutions: Pharmacare, decriminalization of all drugs (voted the third-highest priority), decriminalizing the sex trade (voted fourth), creating a guaranteed minimum income (voted sixth).
Yet despite assurances from cabinet ministers in attendance that they were “open to the discussion,” some of those resolutions were clearly dead in the water — at least for now. Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor had already rejected the notion of decriminalizing drugs before the convention began and Trudeau did the same Saturday.
“On that particular issue, as I’ve said, it’s not part of our plans,” he told reporters.
That stands in stark contrast to pharmacare, on which significant preparatory work is already underway in government.
The spring budget funded a federal advisory council on pharmacare headed up by Eric Hoskins, who resigned as Ontario’s health minister to take the job. Just last week, the all-party House of Commons health committee tabled a report that recommended a universal single-payer program.
Asked about that resolution, Trudeau said, “I can tell you from many, many conversations with Liberals that it is a priority for us.”
It was touted throughout the convention as a cause whose time has come. It was raised in numerous panel discussions, most of which had the “middle class” as part of their titles. The centrepiece of Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne’s speech to the convention Friday night was a section called “the case for pharmacare.”
If it was clear most Liberals want pharmacare to be the centrepiece of their appeal to voters in 2019, they are also clearly aware the NDP is eager to campaign on it, too — a fact acknowledged by the Liberal MP sponsoring the policy at the convention.
“Friends, this is Liberal business,” John Oliver told delegates Friday morning. “This is ours to finish, not the NDP.”