Friday, February 6, 2026
ADVT 
National

NDP urges action on pharmacare, dental care as health ministers meet in Halifax

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 29 Jan, 2025 10:58 AM
  • NDP urges action on pharmacare, dental care as health ministers meet in Halifax

Canada's provincial and territorial health ministers are meeting with their federal counterpart in Halifax this week, and the New Democrats are urging them to ink pharmacare deals.

The national pharmacare law calls for the federal government to sign deals with provinces and territories to start funding coverage of birth control and diabetes medications. 

Federal Health Minister Mark Holland has said he hoped to have deals signed by this spring, but so far only B.C. has signed a memorandum of understanding. 

Other provinces have pledged to start covering some medications on their own. 

In a letter to Holland, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and health critic Peter Julian are also asking the Liberals to speed up expansion of the dental care program, which they say is nearly a month late. 

Both programs were a key part of the supply-and-confidence deal that saw the NDP keep the minority Liberal government in power from 2022 until last fall.

 

MORE National ARTICLES

As fruit buds swell, B.C. farmers hit by 2024 deep freeze hope for better harvest

As fruit buds swell, B.C. farmers hit by 2024 deep freeze hope for better harvest
Peter Simonsen says buds on the peach trees at his farm in Naramata, B.C., are already starting to swell early. With plants already budding because of the previous warmth, a year's worth of crops, including peaches and nectarines, were wiped out, along with the vast majority of cherries, and grapes used in B.C. wines. The loss cost hundreds of millions of dollars and left many farmers scrambling to stay afloat.

As fruit buds swell, B.C. farmers hit by 2024 deep freeze hope for better harvest

Suspect in West Edmonton Mall shooting arrested in Northwest Territories

Suspect in West Edmonton Mall shooting arrested in Northwest Territories
A suspect in an August 2023 shooting at West Edmonton Mall has been arrested in the Northwest Territories. Edmonton police say they're working with their counterparts in the territory to execute warrants related to the shooting.

Suspect in West Edmonton Mall shooting arrested in Northwest Territories

Canada carbon rebate goes out today as future of carbon tax remains unclear

Canada carbon rebate goes out today as future of carbon tax remains unclear
For a family of four, the rebate will pay out anywhere from $190 in New Brunswick to $450 in Alberta, with people in small and rural communities receiving a 20 per cent boost to their rebates.

Canada carbon rebate goes out today as future of carbon tax remains unclear

Canada says it has border under control just ahead of Trump inauguration

Canada says it has border under control just ahead of Trump inauguration
Public Safety Minister David McGuinty says Ottawa has added 60 new drones at the Canada-U.S. border and will deploy two new helicopters this week as it moves to ratchet up security. McGuinty trotted out the details of new measures as the federal government seeks to prove it's serious about beefing up border security with just five days left before Donald Trump's inauguration.

Canada says it has border under control just ahead of Trump inauguration

Energy minister makes the case for U.S.-Canada energy alliance in Washington

Energy minister makes the case for U.S.-Canada energy alliance in Washington
Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson — the latest Liberal to visit Washington in response to president-elect Donald Trump’s tariff threats — is making a pitch for a Canada-U. S. energy and resource alliance. Wilkinson told American lawmakers Wednesday that the best way for the U.S. to protect its economic dominance and national security from China is to work with Canada.

Energy minister makes the case for U.S.-Canada energy alliance in Washington

Global temperatures this year to rival 2024's record-breaking heat: climate officials

Global temperatures this year to rival 2024's record-breaking heat: climate officials
Canadian climate officials say this year's average global temperature is set to rival 2024's record-breaking heat, and is virtually guaranteed to be hotter than any year on record before 2023. Scientists with Environment and Climate Change Canada say the average global temperature is forecast to be about 1.45 C warmer than it was in the late 19th century. 

Global temperatures this year to rival 2024's record-breaking heat: climate officials