Healthcare, Pharmacare and Dental Care

When Tommy Douglas introduced universal healthcare to Canada, his vision was for a complete, head-to-toe, comprehensive healthcare system that lefts no one falling through the gaps. Canada is the only developed country in the world with a universal health care system that doesn't include universal coverage of prescription drugs.
Being able to see a doctor does not help if one cannot afford their medication. I have met a senior, who at 80 years old, must blend all their food to survive because they do not have teeth. Mental health support is inaccessible to too many people, often with devastating impact. It should be a no-brainer that a complete healthcare system includes prescription medication, dental care, vision care, and mental health support. With rising costs, it is more important than ever that healthcare is accessible and affordable.

Can’t afford your medication? Universal public pharmacare saves money and lives.

Canadians are paying more for prescription drugs than citizens of other OECD countries, with one in eight Canadians between 55 and 64 saying they cannot afford their medication. Nearly 2 million Canadians couldn’t afford to fill their prescriptions in the last year. And for many people that means more trips to the doctor or the hospital – hurting their health, and costing more in the long run. No one should have to choose between paying for their medicine, or paying for their or their families’ other basic needs.

Globe & Mail: Decades after her diagnosis, Adrienne Clarkson calls for better endometriosis care

More than six decades after being diagnosed with endometriosis, former governor-general Adrienne Clarkson considers herself “one of the very lucky ones.”

At 21, after learning she had the painful inflammatory disease, Ms. Clarkson soon had surgery at Toronto General Hospital. She credits her gynecologist at the time, Douglas Cannell, for preserving part of an ovary.

At the time, a nurse told her any other surgeon would have done a hysterectomy because her situation was “a mess.” Dr. Cannell spent two hours in the operating room with her.

Ms. Clarkson is grateful to have had access to his expertise so she was later able to bear children – something that isn’t always possible because endometriosis is associated with infertility in about 30 to 60 per cent of cases. Many patients require fertility treatments to conceive.

Endometriosis is an inflammatory condition that sees cells similar to those on the inside of the uterus grow outside of it. It is commonly associated with severe pelvic pain, which adversely affects patients’ well-being, productivity and relationships.

It also carries a high cost burden for the health care system. A population study published in 2020 looked at hospital admissions in Canada over a five-year period for every province except Quebec. It recorded that there were 47,000 admissions, totalling $152.2-million in health care costs, which amounts to $30-million a year.

Earlier this year, Elize Nocente, a Grade 11 student who lives in Vancouver, started a House of Commons petition, sponsored by B.C. NDP MP Jenny Kwan, to raise awareness of endometriosis in schools. She does not have the condition herself but knows others who do, and she aspires to be an obstetrician/gynecologist one day.

The petition calls for the federal government to establish a national advisory board on endometriosis education and to work with provincial and territorial governments to support the mandatory inclusion of endometriosis education in curricula.

*Click image or link to read the full news story - https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-adrienne-clarkson-calls-for-better-endometriosis-care/

Global News: BC COVID vaccine victim still waiting for compensation

An East Vancouver man who is one of the rare people to suffer from severe adverse effects from the COVID vaccine continues to fight a bureaucratic nightmare to collect the compensation he qualifies for.

While his medical and support costs were officially approved back in February, federal delays left him waiting for months without reimbursement—facing financial distress, lack of home care, and the threat of eviction.

I raised his case directly in Parliament to hold the government accountable and demand immediate action for urgent Vaccine Injury Support Program (VISP) cases.

Following our advocacy, he has finally received his payment. However, individuals in our community facing rare, life-altering medical reactions should never have to fight through months of red tape just to receive the support promised to them. I will continue advocating for a system that acts with urgency, fairness, and compassion.

*Click image or link to watch the news story - https://globalnews.ca/video/11988722/bc-covid-vaccine-victim-still-waiting-for-compensation/

Now Toronto: ‘Girls aren’t being told what pain isn’t normal’: B.C. teen takes endometriosis fight to Parliament

Elize Nocente launched a parliamentary petition urging governments to introduce mandatory endometriosis education in Canadian schools.
Nocente says better education would help young people recognize when period pain is not normal and could help close the years-long diagnosis gap for endometriosis.
The petition calls for funding for a national advisory board to develop educational standards, resources and public awareness campaigns about the disease.
With more than 500 signatures, it is eligible to be presented in the House of Commons by Vancouver East MP Jenny Kwan after the signature period closes on Oct. 14.
She says youth should play an active role in politics and advocacy because they understand the issues affecting their generation firsthand.

*Click image or link to read the news story - https://nowtoronto.com/news/bc-teen-endometriosis-parliament-petition-school-education/

The Tyee: A Vancouver Teen’s Mission to Bring Endometriosis Education to Schools

A Vancouver teenager is asking the federal government to improve public education about endometriosis, a condition that affects roughly one in 10 people assigned female at birth, or two million Canadians.

Announcements, Events & more from Tyee and select partners
Hollyhock Invites You to ‘The Art of Entanglement’Hollyhock Invites You to ‘The Art of Entanglement’
A five-day journey into spirit, art and science showcases the interconnectedness of all things.

Endometriosis occurs when cells that resemble the lining of the uterus grow outside of the uterus on surrounding organs, such as the bladder, bowel or ovaries. The condition can cause debilitating pain.

Because this pain is often connected to a menstrual cycle, people with endometriosis often have their experience minimized by medical professionals, says 16-year-old Elize Nocente.

“You’re told that period pain is normal and not to be scared,” Nocente told The Tyee. “Some discomfort and pain is normal, but when it gets to the point where some girls can’t even get out of bed because they’re in so much pain, then that’s not normal at all.”

n extreme cases, endometriosis can cause kidney failure, bowel obstruction, painful bowel movements and blood in stool and urine. About 90 per cent of people with symptoms experience severe cramps and 30 per cent of people with endometriosis have trouble conceiving.

When teenagers are told extreme pain is normal it creates a cycle of shame, where they’re suffering and also believe something is wrong with them because they can’t cope as well as their peers, Nocente said.

“People don’t really care about girls receiving proper education about their own bodies,” she said. “They kind of assume that they already know, but really it’s not a given.”

To change this, Nocente is asking the federal government to fund a national advisory board to develop an evidence-based endometriosis lesson plan, and to work with the provinces and territories to introduce the lesson plan into age-appropriate classrooms.

She’s making the request in the form of a federal e-petition, which has received over 600 signatures already. If those signatures are all deemed valid, Jenny Kwan, NDP MP for Vancouver East, will present the petition in Parliament after the petition closes on Oct. 14, 2026.

Nocente said education is the best way to make societal change.

*Click image or link to read the full news story - https://thetyee.ca/News/2026/07/16/Vancouver-Teen-Mission-Endometriosis-Education/

HANSARD: Calls out Bill C-30 for shortchanging housing, healthcare, and reconciliation

*Click [ Read more ] to read my full speech and responses from MPs

HANSARD: Demands immediate federal action for a disabled constituent due to stalled bureaucratic delays

CBC News: Man denied dental coverage under national plan says insurer 'playing games' with Canadians

After months of probing, Walter Bossé is still trying to get to the bottom of why he doesn’t qualify to get a crown covered under the Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP).

The public insurance program subsidizes the cost of dental care for Canadian residents with a household income below $90,000, if they don't have access to a private insurance plan.

Insurance provider Sun Life administers the CDCP and processes claims.

While most claims don’t need pre-authorization, it’s required for more expensive procedures, like crowns or partial dentures.

In the last year, Bossé said he’s had multiple pre-authorization requests for crowns denied, even after his dentist submitted the proper documentation, X-rays and a detailed explanation to show why they're medically necessary.

“I was quite surprised because the dentist was convinced it was straightforward,” said Bossé, who lives in Kirkland, Que., a suburb of Montreal.

Bossé had a broken filling. Although his dentist repaired the base, the tooth needed a crown. A subsequent pre-approval request a few months later for a different tooth, which was cracked, was also denied.

Across the country in B.C, the NDP MP for Vancouver East has heard similar complaints from several of her constituents.

“They should not have to battle the insurance company to try and figure out what it is that they might be doing wrong,” said Jenny Kwan.

“For all we know, they might not be doing anything wrong.”

In one case, her office intervened after a resident’s pre-authorization request for dentures was rejected.

“He literally couldn’t eat,” said Kwan. “We had to fight tooth and nail to only get partial coverage.”

Other constituents in her riding were turned down for crowns. Kwan says neither her office nor the dentist clinics can “make heads or tails out of it.

*Click image or link to read the news story - https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/dental-work-national-plan-coverage-9.7212333

HANSARD: Speech in response to the Spring Economic Update

*Click [ Read more ] to read Jenny's full speech

HOUSE VIDEO: Speech in response to the Spring Economic Update

On Monday May 25 2026, NDP MP Jenny Kwan responded to Prime Minister Carney's Spring Economic Update & Bill C-30, the Spring Economic Update Implementation Act.

*Click image to watch the video

Global News: COVID-19 vaccine victim struggles to get compensation

A B.C. man who is one of the rare people suffering a debilitating reaction to the COVID-19 vaccine says he is now living in a bureaucratic nightmare trying to get compensation.

Jan Przeranski says that as a result of his vaccination, he suffers from severe lymphedema, a chronic, progressive condition that has caused swelling and infections in his arm.

He says he applied to the federal government’s vaccine injury compensation program, which was first administered by the private consulting firm Oxaro.

Following a raft of problems with Oxaro, the federal government took over the program in March.

*Click image or link to watch the news video - https://globalnews.ca/news/11859677/bc-man-suffering-reaction-covid-19-vaccine-still-trying-compensation/