Clock ticks on Liberal-NDP deal as budget omits pharmacare bill promised in 2023

Photo: The Canadian Press

New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh speaks before caucus, in Ottawa, Wednesday, March 29, 2023. One of the last outstanding items within the NDP-Liberal deal for this year is getting a pharmacare bill tabled in the House of Commons. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

One of the Liberals' outstanding promises for 2023 in their deal with the NDP was conspicuously absent from the federal budget.

The confidence-and-supply agreement requires the government to table legislation on pharmacare by the end of the calendar year in exchange for the NDP's support on key votes in the House of Commons.

Both parties say that is still on track to happen, but even if a bill is introduced by December, it's unclear when a pharmacare system could be up and running.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says that when the deal was struck, the Liberals wouldn't go beyond promising a legislative framework.

Singh claimed a win after Tuesday's federal budget announced the government would pump billions into a new dental-care program.

But while political experts and Conservatives are calling it an NDP-inspired budget, New Democrats say that if it was truly their budget, money for pharmacare would've been part of it.