Jagmeet Singh confirms NDP wants national contraception coverage

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh confirmed for the first time Friday that New Democrats are pushing the federal government to fund contraception coverage.

The NDP leader was in British Columbia, where the province's NDP government already funds birth control and other forms of contraception through a single-payer model.

The Manitoba NDP, which recently formed government in that province, campaigned on covering contraception. The Ontario Progressive Conservative government hasshown a willingness to do the same.

The federal NDP is negotiating the introduction of a national pharmacare program with the federal government. Getting provinces and territories to opt would be key to such a program, since health falls under provincial and territorial jurisdiction.

«If we can do that in B.C., we should be able to do this across the country,» Singh said. «This can be a step forward in showing that we can actually achieve universal coverage.»

New Democrats are calling for coverage of contraception in their pharmacare talks with the Liberals, Singh said.

«We're getting very close to a final position, and when we submit our final position on this, that will be it,» Singh told a news conference Friday in Port Coquitlam, B.C.

Singh said his party wants coverage for prescription contraception, intrauterine devices and emergency contraception.

«This is about ensuring that we don't just say people have a right to do whatever they want with their bodies … That we back that up with a concrete step tearing down the barrier that prevents some from accessing contraception,» he said.

Singh also said contraception coverage would be a «prudent» first step, given that some in government have balked at the cost of fully implementing universal single-payer