AccessBC, an organization that was founded on advocating for universal no-cost prescription contraception in British Columbia, is now campaigning for the expansion of the federal Pharmacare program.
The campaign is called ‘Pharmacare Shouldn’t Depend on Your Postal Code’ and is aimed at Prime Minister Mark Carney’s recent decision to back away from expanding access to federal Pharmacare.
With the passage of Bill C-64, Canadians welcomed the idea that they would be able to access free prescription contraception and diabetes medication; however, not everyone has access yet.
According to AccessBC, only 17% of Canadians currently live in provinces and territories that have signed on to the national Pharmacare plan, while the remaining 83% are getting left behind.
Currently, only Manitoba, British Columbia, PEI and Yukon have signed on to Pharmacare with the federal government, while the remaining nine provinces and territories have not.
Teale Phelps Bondaroff, Chair and co-founder of the AccessBC Campaign says that he would like to see Carney’s campaign promise kept—to put effort into expanding access to Pharmacare.
“Without strong federal leadership to sign and fund these deals, millions of Canadians will continue to face barriers when trying to access life-saving and life-changing medicine,” said Phelps Bondaroff.
“The Liberals promised national pharmacare, but the work is far from finished. By stepping back from pharmacare, the government is deepening health inequities and denying people the basic care that we value so much as Canadians.”
According to AccessBC, a hormonal IUD can cost up to $500, contraceptive implants costs $350, oral contraceptive pills cost at least $240 per year, a copper IUD costs $75 and hormonal injections cost as much as $180 per year.
These are costs that disproportionately impact women and people who can become pregnant.
Since these costs were covered by the BC government, from April 2023 to December 2024, 306,000 British Columbians were able to access some kind of prescription contraception for free.
What the Pharmacare Shouldn’t Depend on Your Postal Code campaign is trying to achieve is for Canadians from coast to coast to send letters to Prime Minister Carney in order to have equitable Pharmacare in all regions of the country.
The letter writing campaign calls on the federal government to pursue signing and funding the remaining pharmacare agreements with all provinces and territories.
“In British Columbia we’ve seen how impactful free contraception has been,” said Devon Black, co-founder and national liaison for AccessBC.
“When so many people are struggling with rising costs and medical expenses, it’s frustrating to know that most Canadians are still waiting for the federal government to keep their promise on pharmacare.”
AccessBC wants the federal government to act without delay, ensuring that pharmacare serves all Canadians equally, regardless of where they live or their ability to pay.
