OFL Calls NDP Prescription Drug Plan the 'Missing Piece' in Canadian Medicare

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Sept. 18, 2015) - The Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) applauded NDP Leader Thomas Muclair's pledge to establish a universal prescription drug plan across Canada.

"Nine years of Conservative cuts to health care and public services have been a tough pill for Canadians to swallow. Mulcair's New Democratic Party is challenging all of us to reject Harper's cynicism and Trudeau's inexperience to begin imagining a better Canada for all of us," OFL President Sid Ryan. "By announcing a universal pharmacare plan, Thomas Mulcair is promising the missing piece to Canada's medicare system. This is yet another reason why Ontario workers are putting their support behind Canada's NDP."

Among the many popular commitments the NDP have promised are:

• Creating stable, full-time, middle-class jobs;
• Creating one million childcare spaces capped at $15 a day;
• Expanding the Canada Pension Plan so no one retires into poverty;
• Reversing Harper's cuts to health transfers;
• Cutting emissions and tackling climate change;
• Repealing Bill C51; and
• Launching a national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women.

"Ontarians desperately need relief from the incredible burden of prescription drug costs. Many labour unions have fought for drug benefits in their workplaces, but these plans are impacted by the inflated costs of prescription drugs and their benefits are not equally felt across the workforce or the population," said Ryan. "It is an affront to Canadian values that the quality of your health and your access to affordable prescription medication are determined by where you work and where you live."

Two weeks ago, the Ontario Federation of Labour declared that it would be putting its full support behind the federal NDP to form the next government of Canada. In advance of Labour Day Weekend, OFL President Sid Ryan called on Ontario's 54 labour unions and over one million unionized workers to volunteer their time for NDP candidates in every riding across Ontario. However, the OFL is putting specific emphasis on the most vulnerable ridings in "Battleground Ontario" where Tories are facing a strong challenge from the NDP.

"There is only one leader in this election who is committed to putting Canadian values at the centre of our society, our economy and our foreign policy and that is NDP Leader Tom Mulcair," said Ryan. "We are committed to going directly into the neighbourhoods of Harper's most vulnerable Conservative candidates to tell Ontario voters that the better choice in this election is Thomas Mulcair and the NDP."

OFL President Sid Ryan will be joining NDP Brampton East Candidate Harbaljit Singh Kahlon at 10:00 am on Saturday, September 19, 2015 to knock on doors and promote today's NDP announcement to voters in this contentious 905 riding. The Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) represents 54 unions and one million workers in Ontario. For information, visit www.OFL.ca and follow the OFL on Facebook and Twitter: @OFLabour.