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加拿大全民药保计划达成协议！4项禁令、买房新政也要来了
联邦新民主党表示，经过数周的谈判，NDP已与执政的自由党达成协议，推出国家药物保险计划的第一部分，其中包括避孕和糖尿病药物的保险。
该协议是两党之间《支应信任协议》(confidence-and-supply agreement)的重要组成部分，并且是在3月1日提交立法的最后期限之前达成的。新民主党发言人证实了该协议，但一些最终细节可能仍会在晚些时候确定。
该协议包括与BC省承保范围一致的避孕药具的全面保险，其中包括宫内节育器和紧急避孕药。它还包括用于1型和2型糖尿病的所有胰岛素，以及其他糖尿病药物和血糖监测等用品的基金。
首次达成协议的截止日期在去年12月被推迟，两党同意将其延长至3月1日。协议一直会持续到2025年6月。
此次新民主党和自由党达成的药保协议，真正在加拿大实现了全民药保。用辛格的话来说：“这对加拿大人来说非常具有历史意义，我们感到非常兴奋。”
新民主党和自由党还在多个方面达成协议，另一个值得关注的是去年12月公布的牙科保健计划。这项耗资130亿元的全国牙科计划目前覆盖了72岁及以上的老年人，并将在2025年将扩大到所有符合条件、没有保险的中低收入加拿大人。
除此之外，协议的待办清单上还有下列4项拟议法案和新政将继续推进：
禁止替工法案
根据协议，所有联邦管辖的工人都可享受10天带薪病假，这项新规已于2022年12月生效。
政府还推出了一项关于禁止替工法案C-58法案，禁止受联邦管辖的行业的雇主在工人罢工期间聘用替工。该法案目前正处于下议院二读阶段。
该法案还将迫使工会和雇主在罢工或停工通知发出后的15天内进行谈判，以确定哪些服务在发生争议时将继续提供。如果双方无法达成一致，则将在90天内提交加拿大劳工关系委员会裁决。
该协议还促成了涉及儿童保育、 和解、 住房、 税收公平和可持续就业的立法和新政策。但联邦政府仍需做更多工作来履行对新民主党的承诺。
长期护理法案
其中一项承诺是推出《安全长期护理法案》(Safe Long-term Care Act)，以"确保老年人无论住在哪里，都能得到应有的护理"。
目前尚不清楚联邦政府将在立法中纳入哪些内容。2023年7月，联邦政府启动了一项在线咨询，为该法案的制定提供信息；咨询一直持续到2023年9月。
联邦政府去年还发布了一份讨论文件，重点介绍了《安全长期护理法》的潜在要素。文件称，该法案可以支持"建立一个长期护理框架和行动计划"，重点关注"公众意识的培训和教育"和"数据收集"。
讨论文件还指出，《安全长期护理法》将"反映各级政府在老年人和残疾人福祉方面的共同责任"，但不会强制规定"标准或（监管）长期护理服务"。
购房者权利法案
此前自由党和新民主党承诺在2023年底前实施一项《购房者权利法案》(Home Buyers’ Bill of Rights)，但未能按时完成。
这一想法最初是在自由党的2021年竞选纲领中提出的。根据政纲文件，这项法案旨在确保购房过程"公平、公开、透明"。
联邦政府在2022年联邦预算中宣布了制定该法案的计划，并表示将在"接下来的一年与各省和地区合作，制定并实施"该法案，还"提出一项终止盲目竞标的全国性计划"。
在盲目竞标过程中，潜在买家在不知道有多少人出价或出价多少的情况下提交购房报价。
2023年预算案称，政府将继续努力制定一项法案，并承诺将"为年轻人、中产阶级和新移民提供公平的竞争环境"。
预算案还表示，该法案可能包括"确保进行房屋检查的合法权利，要求房地产经纪人披露他们是否代表潜在交易的双方，以及确保销售价格历史的透明度"等措施。
选举改革
协议还承诺政府将与加拿大选举委员会合作，探讨扩大民众投票能力的方法。其中包括考虑"允许人们在其选区内的任何投票站投票"，以及改进邮寄选票的流程。
The Liberals and NDP say they have a pharmacare deal — so what's left on their to-do list?
https://twitter.com/JennaLegge1/status/1761772329158234152
There are promises still unfulfilled in the parties' confidence-and-supply agreement
Now that the Liberals and New Democrats have announced they've reached a deal on pharmacare, the path is open for the parties to carry on a confidence-and-supply agreement that has helped to keep the government in power since March 2022.
The parties have reached agreements on several fronts but there are several items on the list that have yet to be completed.
The deal provides the minority Liberal government with the backing of New Democrat MPs on confidence and budgetary matters, staving off an early election. In exchange, the Liberals have agreed to move on several NDP policy priorities. Pharmacare was just one of them.
A pharmacare deal was a major NDP condition going into the confidence-and-supply agreement, which expires in June 2025.
The government missed the initial deadline for a pharmacare agreement — the end of 2023 — and set a new deadline of March 1.
In a Friday interview with CBC's Rosemary Barton Live airing Sunday, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said weeks of talks between the two parties have produced draft legislation. He said this will set out a framework for a national pharmacare program and, in the short term, offer new coverage for contraception and diabetes treatment.
Diabetes treatment, contraception to be covered by new pharmacare deal: Singh
"We've secured something really important, I would say really historic for Canadians. We're really excited about this," Singh said.
Another notable aspect of the agreement was the dental-care plan unveiled in December of last year. The $13 billion national dental plan currently covers seniors aged 72 and older and will expand to all eligible, uninsured low- and middle-income Canadians by 2025.
A big win for labour
The agreement led to the introduction of 10 days of paid sick leave for all federally regulated workers; that came into effect in December 2022.
The government also introduced a bill on replacement workers, C-58, referred to by union leaders and others as "anti-scab" legislation. It's currently at the second reading stage in the House of Commons.
The bill — a major win for the NDP and the labour movement — would make it illegal for employers in federally regulated industries to bring in replacement workers during a legal strike or lockout.
Striking teachers march through the streets of Montreal to press their contract demands on Tuesday, December 12, 2023. (Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press)
The bill also would compel unions and employers to negotiate within 15 days of a notice of strike or lockout which services would continue in the event of a dispute. If they can't agree, the matter would be referred to the Canada Industrial Relations Board for a decision within 90 days.
The agreement also has led to legislation and new policies involving child care, reconciliation, housing, tax fairness and sustainable jobs.
But there's still more the federal government must do to meet its commitments to the NDP.
Long-term care act
One of those commitments is to introduce a Safe Long-Term Care Act, which — according to the wording of the bipartisan agreement — would "ensure that seniors are guaranteed the care they deserve, no matter where they live."
It remains to be seen what the federal government will include in the legislation. In July 2023, an online consultation was launched to inform the development of the act; it ran until September 2023.
A discussion paper, also released last year by the federal government, highlighted potential elements of a Safe Long-Term Care Act. It says it could support the "creation of a framework and action plan on long-term care" that could focus on "training and education ... public awareness" and "data collection."
The discussion paper also says a Safe Long-Term Care Act will "reflect the shared responsibility of all levels of governments with respect to the well-being of older adults and persons with disabilities" without mandating "standards or [regulating] long-term care delivery."
Homebuyers' bill of rights
The pharmacare deal wasn't the only one that missed its deadline.
The Liberals and NDP vowed to implement a "Homebuyers' Bill of Rights" by the end of 2023. The idea was first pitched in the Liberals' 2021 election platform.
The idea is to ensure the process of buying a home is "fair, open, and transparent," according to the platform document.
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On paper, the Liberals’ deal for the NDP’s support is supposed to prop up their minority government until next summer. But in exchange, the Liberals agreed to a bill on pharmacare, and NDP leader Jagmeet Singh is threatening that the deal could be done if they miss an approaching March 1st deadline. So could the coming weeks see the end of the deal? Would the Liberals really risk an election right now? And did the deal deliver wins for the NDP that voters will remember? CBC’s chief political correspondent Rosemary Barton returns to unpack it all.The federal government announced plans to develop the bill in the 2022 federal budget. It said it would "engage with provinces and territories over the next year to develop and implement" the bill and "bring forward a national plan to end blind bidding."
In a blind bidding process, a prospective buyer submits an offer for a home without knowing how many other offers there are, or how much they're worth.
The federal government has promised what it calls a 'Homebuyers' Bill of Rights.' (Evan Mitsui/CBC)
The 2023 budget said the government continues to work toward a bill and promised that it will "level the playing field for young, middle class and new Canadians."
The budget also said the bill could include measures "ensuring the legal right to a home inspection, requiring that real estate agents disclose whether they are representing both sides of a potential sale and ensuring transparency on the history of sale prices."
Electoral reform
The confidence-and-supply agreement also commits the government to working "with Elections Canada to explore ways to expand the ability for people to vote." That includes looking at "allowing people to vote at any polling place within their electoral district" and improving the process for mail-in ballots.
Under the confidence-and-supply agreement, the Liberals committed to studying ways to make it easier for people to vote. (Gabrielle Drumond/Radio-Canada)
The NDP has pushed for electoral reform for a long time. On Feb. 8, the Liberals voted against Motion 86, which called on the federal government to establish a citizens' assembly to "determine if electoral reform is recommended for Canada, and, if so, [to] recommend specific measures that would foster a healthier democracy."
NDP MP Lisa Marie Barron sponsored the motion. The House of Commons ultimately voted it down.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jenna Legge is a fourth-year student at Carleton University, where she studies journalism and law with a minor in political science. She is graduating in April 2024.
