By Kelly Bowden, Director of Policy and Advocacy at Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights
This week, the BC government took historic action and became the first province in Canada to provide universal no cost coverage for prescription contraception.
The move in BC comes at a time when Canadians have been long awaiting the promise of pharmacare—a national initiative that could support sexual health for everyone in the country, not just those in provinces who have made the bold decision to put it first.
Canada is the only country in the world that has universal healthcare but no national drug plan, leaving 1 in 5 Canadians with insufficient or no drug coverage under the current health system.
The Federal Government has committed to pass a Canada Pharmacare Act by the end of 2023 and establish a national formulary, but while we wait for that to come to fruition, numerous Canadians are left without proper coverage—something which is a fundamental human right.