The Liberals and NDP say they have a pharmacare deal — so what's left on their to-do list?
CBC
Now that the Liberals and New Democrats have announced they've reached an deal on pharmacare, the path is open for the parties to carry on a confidence-and-supply agreement that has helped to keep the government in power since March 2022.
The parties have reached agreements on several fronts but there are several items on the list that have yet to be completed.
The deal provides the minority Liberal government with the backing of New Democrat MPs on confidence and budgetary matters, staving off an early election. In exchange, the Liberals have agreed to move on several NDP policy priorities. Pharmacare was just one of them.
A pharmacare deal was a major NDP condition going into the confidence-and-supply agreement, which expires in June 2025.
The government missed the initial deadline for a pharmacare agreement — the end of 2023 — and set a new deadline of March 1.
In a Friday interview with CBC's Rosemary Barton Live airing Sunday, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said weeks of talks between the two parties have produced draft legislation. He said this will set out a framework for a national pharmacare program and, in the short term, offer new coverage for contraception and diabetes treatment.
"We've secured something really important, I would say really historic for Canadians. We're really excited about this," Singh said.
Another notable aspect of the agreement was the dental-care plan unveiled in December of last year. The $13 billion national dental plan currently covers seniors aged 72 and older and will expand to all eligible, uninsured low- and middle-income Canadians by 2025.
The agreement led to the introduction of 10 days of paid sick leave for all federally regulated workers; that came into effect in December 2022.
The government also introduced a bill on replacement workers, C-58, referred to by union leaders and others as "anti-scab" legislation. It's currently at the second reading stage in the House of Commons.
The bill — a major win for the NDP and the labour movement — would make it illegal for employers in federally regulated industries to bring in replacement workers during a legal strike or lockout.
The bill also would compel unions and employers to negotiate within 15 days of a notice of strike or lockout which services would continue in the event of a dispute. If they can't agree, the matter would be referred to the Canada Industrial Relations Board for a decision within 90 days.
The agreement also has led to legislation and new policies involving child care, reconciliation, housing, tax fairness and sustainable jobs.
But there's still more the federal government must do to meet its commitments to the NDP.
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