National drug program, pay equity themes of federal budget

OTTAWA (NEWS 1130) – The new federal budget is rich in investment, but poor when it comes to reducing the debt.

Spending is climbing nearly $20-billion over six years. Finance Minister Bill Morneau says new money is being dedicated to protecting the environment, seniors, and helping more women get into the workforce.

Equal pay

“For the first time in our history, there are more Canadians aged 65 and older than there are people under the age of 15. As seniors leave the workforce we need to think about who will fill the gap. We believe that Canada’s future success rests on making sure every Canadian has an opportunity to work and to earn a good living from that work,” says Morneau.

“That includes Canada’s talented, ambitious, and hardworking women.”

It’s the first time a budget has been analyzed through gender-based assessment–how policies affect both men and women, the indigenous community, low-income earners, and LGBTQ Canadians.

Many of the policies outlined in this budget include eliminating wage gaps for workers at the federal level. They’re still subject to legislation but there will be more pay transparency and an effort to get more women in the workforce with an aim to grow the economy.

While the government wants to balance the pay scale, it can’t yet say how much it’s going to cost.

Pharmacare

Also mentioned in this budget is the establishment of national Pharmacare initiative, which will be led by Dr. Eric Hoskins. An advisory council will also be established and will report back on how it would be set up and how much it would cost.

One of the most outspoken advocates for a national Pharmacare program is Vancouver-based. UBC professor and health policy expert Steve Morgan is confident it can–and will–be done.

“That this is about implementation is really promising. It suggests the government does want to move forward and to use some of the revenue powers of the federal government to encourage the provinces to come on board with a Pharmacare program that would have national standards,” he says, adding this is long overdue.

“We have had commission after commission and study after study about whether national pharmacare was a good idea. Every commission and every study concludes yes, of course it’s a good idea. Every comparable health care system with universal coverage has a universial pharmacare system except for Canada’s.”

Morgan is also pleased Doctor Eric Hoskins is in charge of the advisory council; up until his resignation yesterday, he was Ontario’s health minister.

As expected, there are new employment insurance initiatives to create more flexibility taking maternity leave. New fathers will be allowed to take five weeks off, a program that is expected to cost more than $1 billion over five years.

Canada and the US

On the fiscal side, the forecasted deficits could create issues if the economy goes off the rails by the NAFTA renegotiation of recent US tax reform changes, two things that Morneau says they’re only studying at this point.

“We’re going to do our homework against changes in the United States to make sure we get it right. They have not even finished writing the regulations, so we will consider exactly how those changes impact business.”

There’s no contingency plan in the budget if NAFTA talks fail, but Morneau says they’re working on it.

“We have considered all different alternatives, but the frame for all of that discussion is that we have a strong economy to start with which puts us in a position to negotiate to get to a better deal.”

Other spending measures include $150 million in assistance to the provinces to fight the opioid epidemic, $150 million for a new government department to fight cybercrime, and $400 million dedicated to fixing the government’s Pheonix payroll system.

All that spending will come at a price. The deficit for the upcoming fiscal year is more than $18-billion heading into 2019, which is an election year.

Opposition weighs in

The opposition is livid about the lack of plans to go with a lot of the promises in this budget.

Conservative leader Andrew Scheer says the government claims to be fiscally responsible but has no plan to get back to balance.

“Never has a politician boasted so loudly, and spend so much to acheive so little.”

There is also heavy criticism over the lack of a plan to deal with the trade and tax uncertainty cause by the US.

Scheer is angered this budget contains no contingencies should NAFTA talks fail, or any measure to account for the upcoming tax changes that he fears could leave our businesses at a competitive disadvantage.

“This is clearly an irresponsible government,” says Scheer. “I’m very concerned at the competitiveness of our economy at the same time that NAFTA is under threat.”

As for a national pharmacare plan, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, who has made this issue a prioirty, scoffs at the announcement.

“This government is not even talking about a pharmacare plan. They’re talking about a study and a study with no financing beside it. That’s nothing. That’s no concrete step,” he says. “That’s completely unacceptable.”