Mr. Speaker, Bill C-213 builds on the Canada Health Act to establish a universal, comprehensive, single-payer pharmacare program.
The federal government would simply provide money to the provinces who would put in place a pharmacare program that meets the criteria it sets. The federal government can impose sanctions if it deems that the province's pharmacare program does not meet the federal criteria. The bill also creates a drug agency responsible for approving the drugs covered by the program and negotiating drug purchases.
The Bloc Québécois is against this bill primarily because we represent the voice of Quebec in Ottawa. If the government did not need NDP votes to stay in power, it would never accept the centralist agenda of this bill that completely violates Quebec's jurisdiction. In fact, the National Assembly of Quebec was unanimous on June 14. I will read the motion that was passed unanimously by all the parties at the National Assembly of Quebec: Québec solidaire, the Parti québécois, the Quebec Liberal Party and the Coalition avenir Québec.
The motion reads:
THAT the National Assembly acknowledge the federal report recommending the establishment of a pan-Canadian pharmacare plan;
THAT it reaffirm the Government of Québec's exclusive jurisdiction over health;
THAT it also reaffirm that Québec has had its own general prescription insurance plan for 20 years;
THAT it indicate to the federal government that Québec refuses to adhere to a pan-Canadian pharmacare plan;
THAT it ask the Government of Québec to maintain its prescription drug insurance plan and that it demand full financial compensation from the federal government if a project for a pan-Canadian pharmacare plan is officially tabled.
When our National Assembly speaks with one voice on an issue dealing with Quebec-Ottawa relations, we in the Bloc Québécois pay attention and make sure that that consensus is echoed in the House of Commons of Canada. Given that the National Assembly was careful to specify that Quebec would refuse to adhere to a pan-Canadian pharmacare plan, we would find it strange to ask for a program that would not apply back home.
The NDP adopted the Sherbrooke declaration in 2005, in which it said it recognized asymmetrical federalism and intended to give Quebec the systematic right to opt out, so it is odd that the New Democrats now seem to be writing off Quebec.
There is no question that health is a Quebec jurisdiction. The Bloc Québécois finance critic, my hon. colleague from Joliette, took a similar position before the Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec, the FTQ. His position echoed that of the FTQ.
Let me quote from a statement from the FTQ, a labour organization that has been advocating for a universal public pharmacare program:
For the FTQ, the terms and conditions of a public, universal pharmacare program must first and foremost be discussed in Quebec and established according to the needs of its people.
That is why Quebec must be able to opt out with full compensation from any pharmacare plan...
Furthermore, the federal government cannot discuss pharmacare without addressing the problems in health care funding....The Liberal government's desire to expand public coverage of health care by including prescription drugs is not consistent with its intention to limit health transfers to the provinces....To ensure the viability of Quebec's health system, the portion of federal funding must be increased.
If Ottawa wants to move forward with its national pharmacare plan, Quebec must have the unconditional right to opt out with full compensation. Ottawa must respect the solemn moment on June 14, 2019, when the Quebec National Assembly unanimously adopted a motion calling on Ottawa not to interfere in Quebec's jurisdictions and to provide full and unconditional financial compensation.
It was impossible for the member for New Westminster—Burnaby to not be aware of this when he introduced his bill.
Quebec is a progressive nation. It is surprising that the NDP, which calls itself progressive, wants a nation that lags behind ours to tell us what to do. Generally speaking, Quebec society has more comprehensive social programs than Canadian society. Quebec has the best family policy on the continent, which includes parental leave and child care. Quebec has the best access to post-secondary education and the most progressive taxation on the continent. Furthermore, Quebec has a pharmacare plan that leaves no one behind. Everyone is covered by insurance.
Although it is not perfect, our situation is unlike any other in North America. Quebec's pharmacare plan has been leading the pack among Canadian provinces and territories since 1996. Quebec will not entrust the development of its social programs to the neighbouring nation, whose coverage does not compare to ours.
The members of the Quebec National Assembly are unanimously opposed to this initiative. The members of the Bloc Québécois, who rise in the House to impart the general consensus of the Quebec National Assembly, will not compromise at the expense of Quebeckers to salvage some votes in the west, in the east or in Ontario. Not to mention, Ottawa is not even able to manage its own affairs. Just look at the firearms registry, which ended up costing $2 billion, or the Phoenix pay system; and yet people think Ottawa should manage our pharmacare program?
Quebec is quite capable of improving its own program without surrendering its autonomy. The $3.6-billion price tag for Quebec's public pharmacare plan is fully covered by the Régie de l'assurance maladie du Québec, or RAMQ, which covers health care costs. What Quebec needs is an increase in health transfers.
Since 2017, the health transfer escalator has been capped at 3%, but health care system costs are going up by about 6% because of factors like technological advances and the aging population.
The Bloc Québécois is asking Ottawa to respect the wishes of Quebec and the provinces and increase its share of health care funding from 22% to 35% unconditionally. Let us not forget that, back when the Canadian system was created, federal funding covered 50% of the cost.
The Bloc Québécois is also opposed to the creation of a Canadian drug agency that would tell Quebec how to use its drugs. Quebec is already managing its public prescription drug insurance plan expenses itself through the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance, the pCPA, and the national institute for excellence in health and social services, or INESSS, and Quebec's system has rigorous criteria.
The INESSS supplies Quebec with its own expertise and updates the list of drugs covered by the RAMQ, Quebec's health insurance plan. A new Canadian drug agency would just duplicate the work being done in an area that is not under federal jurisdiction. That is nonsensical.
That is why I moved a motion on October 26 at the Standing Committee on Health to study how reforming patented medicine pricing could affect the whole life sciences ecosystem and patient access to innovative therapies.
During the election campaign, the Liberals said they wanted to do something about the cost of drugs used to treat rare diseases. They reiterated that intention in the throne speech, but we are still awaiting the strategy. The federal government needs to give us more details about its plans. Most importantly, it needs to tell us whether it intends to harmonize its rare disease strategy with Quebec's.
In closing, recognizing that Quebec's plan is the best one on the continent and emphasizing that Quebec has the right to decide does not mean that our plan is perfect, but Quebeckers are perfectly capable of managing it. The NDP and the Liberals have a harmful obsession with wanting to interfere and wanting to decide for Quebec where Quebec should spend its money. Rather than clinging to its centralizing vision, the government should instead agree to Quebec's demands and permanently and substantially increase health transfers so that Quebec can take care of its people.