Singh: Poilievre is trying to take free birth control away—we won't let him

TORONTO—On Friday, Canada’s NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and NDP critic for Women and Gender Equality Leah Gazan called out Pierre Poilievre’s plan to take away free birth control from 9 million Canadians.

In February, Jagmeet Singh and the NDP forced the federal government to deliver free birth control for Canadians as part of a new universal pharmacare program. Last week, during the first day of debate on the bill implementing this important step, Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives introduced an amendment to block it.

“I’ve heard so many stories of women for whom birth control is out-of-reach. They are often forced to make difficult choices—paying for contraceptives or putting food on the table. It shouldn’t have to be this way,” said Singh. “That’s why New Democrats fought to force the government to lower costs for Canadians by making birth control free for everyone who needs it. But, at the first chance he had in Parliament, Pierre Poilievre tried to take it away. We won’t let him.”

Free birth control would not only save hundreds of dollars a year for millions of Canadians, but it also gives more freedom and control to women to make their own decisions about their reproductive health. This increased access to contraceptives will also improve people’s health which will help ease the strain on our health-care system. But Pierre Poilievre is clear: he doesn’t want women to have access to free birth control.

“Last year, the Conservatives tried to push through backdoor legislation attacking a women’s right to choose. This year, they’re trying to block free access to birth control. Women have fought too hard for their rights, we can’t let Conservatives take us backwards,’’ said Gazan. “It’s shameful that Pierre Poilievre wants to take this away, especially when he’s had health coverage paid by the public for most of his adult life. He doesn’t have a problem throwing away $60 billion in corporate handouts but wants people to pay more for birth control. That’s the price of Pierre. New Democrats are fighting back to uphold women’s right to choose, and to lower costs for Canadians.”