Community townhall meeting in Ottawa on May 24, 2023

It’s time to fight for public pharmacare. The Ottawa chapter of the Council of Canadians, with support from the Ottawa Health Coalition, would like to hear from you, and is inviting experts to answer your questions, at a community townhall meeting about the needed expansion of our public health care system to include pharmacare to provide access to prescription drugs for all.

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WHEN and WHERE?

Wednesday, May 24 from 7-9 pm (doors at 6:30)

Lion Dick Brûlé Community Centre, 170 Castlefrank Rd., Kanata, Ontario

This hybrid event will also be lived streamed.

FREE - Please RSVP here

 

WHY NOW?

With the March 2022 confidence and supply agreement with the NDP, Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government committed to passing a Canada Pharmacare Act by the end of 2023. We need to make sure this promise is fulfilled. But Big Pharma and its insurance industry allies are working to torpedo the whole project. This is a fight we can win, if we organize. We have a clear plan for the public, universal pharmacare we want. We have a minority government vulnerable to popular pressure. We have a huge majority of support – 9 in 10 people in Canada say they want pharmacare. Our opponents - Big Pharma and the insurance industry – are powerful, but they also are widely reviled and untrusted. And thanks to the supply-and-confidence agreement, pharmacare is on the political agenda in 2023.

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We need to raise the political temperature on our Members of Parliament – especially Liberal MPs - to make pharmacare happen. They need to hear how important this issue is to their constituents, and they need to feel that there will be significant electoral consequences if they fail to follow through. 

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HOW?

By uniting in cities and towns across Canada to demand pharmacare now, we can win an historic expansion of our cherished public health care system. Help make pharmacare a reality by supporting the public town hall in Ottawa (or find or host one in your community!).

 

HOW YOU CAN HELP

 

• Personal stories: We are looking for a few people who would be willing to share their personal stories about lack of accessible and affordable access to prescription medications. If you have a story to share, please contact us to discuss if this event would be a good fit for you.

• Invited experts: We are also looking for experts in the medical or policy fields to explain the research behind why a national public pharmacare plan will benefit all Canadians. We have some experts on board already, but if you have someone else in the Ottawa-area to suggest, please do let us know.

• Tabling: There will also be an opportunity for allied organizations to set up a table at the event to promote related campaigns and provide information to community members. Please let us know if you would like to participate.

• Volunteers: Finally, we are looking for volunteers to help set up the room, take tickets and run the Q&A, and support the virtual/hybrid technology and livestream.

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Please reach out if you have a personal or professional story to tell!