Mr. Speaker, in negotiating the United States-Mexico-Canada agreement, NAFTA 2.0, the Liberals failed a lot of people, including our dairy farmers, our chicken farmers, our egg farmers and our turkey farmers. However, they also failed millions of sick people, who will have to pay more for treatment under this bad deal.
This deal raises the price of drugs for certain diseases, and the public is finding that a very hard pill to swallow. Canada gave in to the U.S. and agreed to extend market protection on pharmaceutical patents for an additional two years. This market protection covers important drugs, including drugs used to treat cancer, arthritis and Crohn's disease. The agreement extends the term of pharmaceutical patents from eight years to ten. In practical terms, that means Canadians will have to wait two more years before they can get cheaper generic versions of the drugs they need.
Does anyone really believe that people living with these diseases can wait two years for affordable medication?
This bad deal directly affects millions of Canadians across the country, including millions of seniors. Ironically, the Liberals are constantly boasting about standing up for our seniors. The reality is that seniors often struggle to afford medication, and this bad deal just adds one more burden.
How can the government still claim that it signed a good deal? I do not know.
This is a bad deal for Canadians who will have to pay more for their medication. It is also a bad deal for employers and governments whose drug plans will have to pay tens of millions of dollars more a year to cover the cost of these medications.
The government keeps saying that it is going to improve access to prescription drugs and reduce the amount that governments have to pay for them. Unfortunately, that is not what it has achieved by making concessions that reduce access to essential drugs and will increase costs for those who pay for them.
This deal includes provisions to extend drug patents. Under these provisions, patents could be extended by several years to compensate for the time between filing the patent and getting the drug to market. That will delay the introduction of generic drugs into the market, which will keep drug prices high and unaffordable for millions of Canadians and increase the cost of our health care system. The Liberals claim that they are in favour of some form of pharmacare program, but this deal makes drugs even more costly.
Canada needs a universal pharmacare program more than ever, to lower the cost of drugs and to ensure that everyone has access to the medications they need. We are the only country with a medicare system that does not include prescription drugs. One in 10 Canadians cannot afford prescription drugs. Every year, nearly 3.5 million Canadians struggle to pay for their medications, which are costing more and more. They cannot afford the medications they need. This government is simply studying what has already been documented. It is unacceptable.
The Parliamentary Budget Officer's report shows that a national pharmacare program could save a lot of money, not to mention the benefits for those who are on medication. Our seniors should not have to choose between paying rent and paying for medication.
If we implement a national pharmacare program, we will reduce inequality and ensure that Quebeckers will never have to pay for private insurance that sometimes costs more than they can afford. Ninety percent of Canadians support a national pharmacare program. Canadians want this, and the government would save billions of dollars. One has to wonder what the government is waiting for.
When will the government make a real difference for families, seniors and businesses by setting up a national pharmacare program?