Health Minister Mark Holland says he has âevery confidenceâ his government can deliver pharmacare legislation by the promised March 1 deadline, and that the Liberals are ânot pulling the fire alarmâ on their confidence-and-supply deal with the NDP over the issue.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said this week if the Liberals donât table a sufficient piece of pharmacare framework legislation by next month, and signalled heâll consider a missed deadline to mean theyâve âwalked awayâ from their confidence-and-supply agreement.
The pact sees the NDP prop up the Liberals until 2025 in exchange for progress on key priorities, including pharmacare, for which the parties have already extended the deadline once before.
Despite Singhâs statements, Holland told CTVâs Question Period host Vassy Kapelos, in an interview airing Sunday, that he will meet the deadline.
âI have every confidence it will be (tabled on time),â Holland said. âI appreciate negotiations aren't easy, and some of that spills out publicly. But (NDP health critic) Don Davies has been a great partner to work with, we've had a lot of back and forth.â
âSo I'm confident that we'll be able to find a solution and that we'll have legislation tabled before that deadline,â he added.
While Holland insists the federal government can deliver on its pharmacare deadline promise, he wouldnât give specifics about the contents of the plan.
This week, when asked for a status update on the talks and the overarching economic restraints on the government given the estimated multibillion-dollar price tag on a universal drug program, Holland acknowledged the federal government "canât afford this to be a massively expensive program."
The Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) estimates the total spending on prescription drugs under a single-payer universal drug plan would be $33.2 billion in 2024-25, rising to $38.9 billion in 2027-28, according to .
âWe can't do everything at once, I think is a fair thing to say,â he told Kapelos.
When pressed on whether the framework legislation will pave the way for a single-payer system â and whether he personally believes it should â Holland wouldnât say, but added heâs not âideologically bound to any one option.â
âI think the end state has to be that every person, everywhere in the country, is covered, and is able to afford their drugs,â he said.
Liberals not âpulling that fire alarmâ on NDP deal
And when asked whether the confidence-and-supply agreement continues to serve the government â despite hard lines being drawn and warnings from the NDP about their deal breakers â Holland said it âabsolutelyâ does.
âIt's a great starting point,â he said. âIt doesn't mean that we work with the New Democrats on everything, sometimes we work with other parties, but it creates predictability.â
Holland also said he wonât speculate publicly about the future of the deal.
âIt's not how I operate,â Holland said, pointing to his time as government house leader, when he was asked frequently whether one issue or another could be the one to fatally damage the agreement. âAnd I never speculated. I just don't think it's useful.â
âBut I don't think Canadians want us pulling that fire alarm,â he added.
While Holland insists the pact with the NDP still has its advantages, some panelists on CTVâs Question Periodâs weekly strategy segment said now might be an .
Holland in his interview also discussed the recently signed $3.1-billion health-care deal with Ontario, which both the federal and provincial governments say will increase access to primary care and reduce wait times.
With files from CTVNews.caâs Senior Digital Parliamentary Reporter Rachel Aiello