As Canada’s fertility rate continues to plummet to extinction levels, making demographers sound the alarm, the Liberals and the NDP in a tone-deaf move have reached a deal to table pharmacare legislation to cover the cost of hormonal and medical interventions that prevent women from having children.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh urged the Liberals in mid-February to cover contraceptives for all Canadians as part of a “pharmacare proposal,” warning that if the Liberals missed his March 1 deadline to table pharmacare legislation that includes free contraception, then the Liberals would “no longer [be able to] count on any of our [NDP] votes” to prop up the Liberal minority government, which would trigger an early election.
“Clearly, making contraception free across the country will save a lot of money for women,” Singh said at a Feb. 16 press conference in Coquitlam, B.C., in defence of the plan. “It will make their lives easier, and it will cut down on costs in our healthcare system,” he continued, adding: “Right now, the NDP is fighting to make this happen across the country.”