The federal government has tapped a panel of five experts to craft the path toward a universal pharmacare program. Dr. Nav Persaud, the Canada Research Chair in health justice, will chair a committee that includes a variety of health-care professionals who are tasked with advising the government on the next steps of the program.
The Liberals and NDP negotiated the substance of a pharmacare bill as part of their now-defunct supply-and-confidence agreement. The bill became law on Oct. 10 , and allows the federal government to sign agreements with the provinces and territories to begin providing free access to contraceptives and diabetes medication.
Separately, the expert committee will come up with recommendations for creating a universal, single-payer pharmacare program. The committee will submit a report to the health minister by Oct. 10, 2025, and that report will go to Parliament.
The experts include Linda Silas, president of the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions; Amy Lamb, executive director of the Indigenous Pharmacy Professionals of Canada; Dr. Stéphane Ahern, an associate clinical professor at the Université de Montréal; and Dr. Steve Morgan, an expert on pharmacare systems at the University of British Columbia.
The committee will engage with provinces and territories, Indigenous groups and experts as it prepares the report. In a statement, the NDP says it welcomes the appointment of the committee. The federal Conservatives have said they would reject a single-.