Breakenridge: Trudeau’s visit clarifies pharmacare options

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It’s nonetheless unclear what the aim was of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s go to to Calgary final week. Sure, there was a “new” announcement concerning the “new” complete of 1.3 million seniors now signed up for the dental care program, but it surely’s unclear why our metropolis wanted to be the venue for that. Will Trudeau return to announce the 1.4-million milestone?

However whereas the journey could have been extra of a photograph op or some early campaigning, the prime minister inadvertently helped present some readability round an necessary matter, and helped to vindicate a much-maligned place of the Alberta authorities.

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No sooner had the ink dried on the Liberal-NDP settlement on nationwide pharmacare, the Alberta authorities made it clear it will possible “choose out” of this system. So it ought to hardly have been a shock that pharmacare would come up in a gathering between the prime minister and Premier Danielle Smith.

Nevertheless, whereas it had appeared that we had been destined for one more Alberta-Ottawa skirmish, there could also be widespread floor on this problem and a possible path to a deal. What was shocking was Trudeau’s feedback that helped illustrate why Alberta’s place wasn’t all that unreasonable to start with.

There was fairly a backlash to that place, which seemed that Albertans could be left on the sidelines of an unlimited and complete nationwide program. This was by no means the case.

Regardless of the heavy rhetoric a few new nationwide pharmacare program, there’s not a lot precise substance. The laws merely spells out the federal government’s aspirations of bettering “the accessibility and affordability of prescribed drugs” and “work(ing) towards the implementation of nationwide common pharmacare.”

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Canada does have common well being care, but it surely’s solely “nationwide” within the sense that it exists in all the nation’s provinces and territories. Pharmacare, too, is provincial jurisdiction, so Ottawa’s function is proscribed to dangling {dollars} within the hopes that provinces comply with spend them a sure manner.

The feds have recognized which forms of drugs and what kind of protection they’d prefer to see, however provinces are underneath no obligation to go together with that. Prescription drug protection varies from province to province, so it’s logical for any province to choose a plan of action that lends itself to or enhances what’s already in place.

When requested final week about pharmacare and Alberta’s perceived opposition, Trudeau famous that his authorities’s aim “is to be sure that the gaps in protection that exist in each province throughout the nation get stuffed in these two areas (i.e., contraceptives and diabetes treatment) . . . that’s a aim that I feel everybody can agree with.”

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He went on to say that his message to Smith was that “we wish to work with you on a manner that is smart for you, that will likely be totally different from B.C., totally different from Quebec, totally different from Ontario, totally different from P.E.I., however we wish to work with you on a system that’ll be sure that everybody in Alberta is ready to entry protection.”

This would appear to carry Ottawa in step with Alberta’s place, which all alongside has been that if Ottawa needs to make monetary contributions aimed toward increasing prescription drug protection, Alberta could be open to negotiating such an association. That is, and all the time was, a completely affordable place.

If no matter deal Alberta finally ends up with deviates considerably from preparations in different provinces that hew extra intently to the form of system the feds envision, it is going to be as much as Albertans to evaluate whether or not the proper strategy was taken right here.

On the finish of the day, Ottawa wants the provinces to make this work, and the provinces are underneath no obligation to take marching orders on a matter that falls underneath their jurisdiction.

“Afternoons with Rob Breakenridge” airs weekdays from 12:30 to three p.m. on QR Calgary

rob.breakenridge@corusent.com

Twitter: @RobBreakenridge

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