Canadians will continue overspending on medication due to government inaction

More than 5 years after the federal government promised action on drug pricing, it’s time to end the delays.

We’re calling on the federal government to move forward with new regulations on patent medication pricing. Canadians, including Public Service Health Care Plan members, continue to pay exorbitant prices for their medication until these regulations are implemented.

President Debi Daviau wrote to Health Minister Patty Hajdu to remind the government of how important this issue is to PIPSC members.

READ THE LETTER

The regulatory review should have been implemented in 2020. Due to political inaction, the rules will come into force in 2022 at the earliest, a needless delay.

PIPSC members, many of whom work in health care, know how important it is to access required medication at a fair price. With tighter regulations on drug pricing, Canadians will pay less for their medication, a change that will be especially important to families without private health care plans.


Regulating prescription medication pricing is a first step in the right direction. Next, we need a national pharmacare program, so that no one has to choose between their medication and their groceries.


21 July 2017
Recently, I sent an opinion piece to the Globe and Mail about our members’ ongoing problems with the Phoenix pay system and what I consider to be one of the root causes of the debacle: outsourcing.

12 June 2017
The recent recommendations of yet another consultants’ report on Shared Services Canada (SSC) demonstrate that, when it comes to federal government outsourcing, there’s no shortage of private sector advice.

6 June 2017
Next week, June 11-17, is National Public Service Week (NPSW). Since 1992 it’s been an occasion to recognize and celebrate the contributions Canada’s public service professionals make to society. The Professional Institute supports this celebration of our members’ accomplishments. In fact, we first proposed it.

2 June 2017
“Today’s update by Deputy Minister Lemay indicates that the government has again failed to plan ahead -- this time for entirely predictable increases in the numbers of employee payroll adjustments needed to implement new collective agreements,” said PIPSC Vice President Steve Hindle.

26 May 2017
The announcement this week that the federal government will temporarily hire an additional 200 staff, invest a further $142 million over three years, and introduce even more measures to expedite fixing Phoenix is welcome, if long overdue, news.