Pharmacare bill unlikely to pass by end of year despite NDP agreement: Gould
Global News
Government House leader Karina Gould said the Liberals and NDP are still hammering out the details of a bill and it's a "productive" conversation.
Government House leader Karina Gould warned Tuesday the Liberals are unlikely to get a pharmacare bill passed by the end of the year, despite their promise to do so in an agreement with the NDP.
“I don’t think we’re going to get it passed by the end of this year, but we’ll definitely keep working,” Gould said on Parliament Hill.
The two parties are still hammering out the details of a bill and it’s a “productive” conversation, she added.
In the end, she said, “I’m quite confident that we’ll land it.”
The supply-and-confidence deal, in which the New Democrats are supporting the Liberals in key House of Commons votes, included a commitment to pass a Canada Pharmacare Act by the end of 2023.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on his way into question period today that the government is “ready to go” on putting forward legislation.
But he said the government wants to make it happen in concert with the NDP.
“We’re open to talking with them to try and make sure that it’s as ambitious as we can do, in the right way,” he said.