Can I quickly comment?
I think this committee also heard from the CEO of the Surrey Board of Trade, a board of trade in my province that brought up to our provincial chamber of commerce a motion in favour of a universal public pharmacare plan, which was passed.
One of the arguments that was made in moving that up to a formal policy or request of that organization was that a public pharmacare program makes extended health insurance more affordable to more small employers. Small businesses in Canada, which are the driving force of the modern economy, are having a hard time continuing to sustain extended health benefits against the high cost of pharmaceuticals, which can be in the order of tens of thousands of dollars if you have an individual patient with a particular need.
If you got that off the books, there would be more opportunity for employers to start investing better in mental health services, dental care, vision care, and so on.