Thunder Bay votes overwhelmingly in favour of national pharmacare
THUNDER BAY, ON, April 10, 2018 /CNW/ - The City of Thunder Bay showed vast support for a national pharmacare plan at a Council meeting on Monday, April 9. All council members in attendance voted unanimously to pass a resolution in favour of a universal prescription drug plan.
Early in March, presidents from three Unifor Locals, Dominic Pasqualino (Local 1075), Kari Jefford (Local 229), and Jamey Rostobutko (Local 191) were at City Hall, as part of a deputation to the Thunder Bay City Council. This deputation put forward a resolution that was sent to the City's Intergovernmental Affairs Committee for review.
On Monday, the resolution was put to the floor by Councilor Andrew Foulds and received immense support from the City Council. In a show of innovative leadership, Thunder Bay is one of the first cities to pass this resolution. Pasqualino commended the City's enthusiasm to be a pioneer in the push for national pharmacare, saying "What's wrong with being leaders?"
Commenting on the success of the pitch to Council, Andy Savela, Director of Health Care at Unifor notes, "Thunder Bay's welcome support of the resolution in favour of national pharmacare is a big win. We hope that the City Council's decision will see itself being repeated in communities across Canada, so we can come together in the drive for a universal prescription drug plan."
About National Pharmacare
Canada is the only developed nation in the world with a universal health care program that does not include a universal prescription drug plan. Instead, Canada has a patchwork of providers, resulting in the second highest drug costs globally, right behind the United States.
The result has been a spotty prescription coverage system that is inefficient and expensive, with Canadians paying wildly different rates and receiving grossly inconsistent coverage. What's worse is the more precariously employed you are, the less likely you are to have coverage. As many as 8.4 million Canadians have no prescription drug coverage at all, disproportionately affecting women and young workers
Unifor is Canada's largest union in the private sector, representing 315,000 workers in every major area of the economy. The union advocates for all working people and their rights, fights for equality and social justice in Canada and abroad, and strives to create progressive change for a better future.
SOURCE Unifor
please contact Asma Farooq, National Communications Representative at 647 327 9371 or [email protected]
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