Bill C-213 explained in plain English
An Act to enact the Canada Pharmacare Act
Federal Parliament bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Parliament of Canada snapshot for 43rd Parliament, 1st Session. MP vote breakdowns appear when the House of Commons publishes a recorded division export for that bill. Senate and House stage details include official debate/sitting links when LEGISinfo publishes them.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
Bill C-213, if enacted, would create the Canada Pharmacare Act to establish conditions for provincial drug insurance plans to receive federal funding.
This bill proposes to create the Canada Pharmacare Act. This Act would establish rules and conditions that provincial drug insurance plans must meet to receive federal cash contributions. It outlines five criteria for these plans: public administration, comprehensiveness, universality, portability, and accessibility. The bill also details a process for the Minister of Health to consult with provinces and potentially refer non-compliance to the Governor in Council, who could then reduce or withhold federal funding. Additionally, it allows for the creation of a federal-provincial drug agency to assess and negotiate drug prices and effectiveness. The Minister would be required to report annually to Parliament on the implementation of the Act.
- Establishes the Canada Pharmacare Act.
- Defines the policy of the Government of Canada to facilitate access to prescription drugs.
- Sets out the purpose of the Act as establishing criteria and conditions for federal cash contributions to public drug insurance plans.
- Specifies that cash contributions may be made to each province for each fiscal year.
- Outlines five criteria that a province's drug insurance plan must meet to qualify for federal cash contributions: public administration, comprehensiveness, universality, portability, and accessibility.
- Details the requirements for each of the five criteria.
- Requires provinces to provide information to the Minister of Health to qualify for cash contributions.
- Establishes a process for the Minister to refer non-compliance with the criteria or information requirements to the Governor in Council.
- Allows the Governor in Council to reduce or withhold federal cash contributions to a province if its drug insurance plan does not meet the criteria or conditions.
- Permits the Minister to enter into arrangements for establishing an independent drug agency.
- Empowers the Governor in Council to make regulations for the administration of the Act.
- Requires the Minister to report annually to Parliament on the administration and operation of the Act.
- Provinces
- The federal government (specifically the Minister of Health)
- Residents of provinces who are insured persons under provincial drug insurance plans
- Healthcare practitioners
- The Governor in Council
- Parliament
- Provinces have the right to receive cash contributions if their drug insurance plans meet specified criteria.
- Provinces have an obligation to administer drug insurance plans according to criteria related to public administration, comprehensiveness, universality, portability, and accessibility.
- Provinces have an obligation to provide required information to the Minister of Health.
- The federal government, through the Minister of Health, has the right to assess provincial drug insurance plans against the criteria.
- The Minister of Health has a duty to consult with provinces regarding potential non-compliance.
- The Governor in Council has the power to reduce or withhold cash contributions.
- The Minister is obligated to report annually to Parliament.
- Federal policy is declared to facilitate access to prescription drugs without financial barriers.
- Cash contributions may be made for each fiscal year.
- Drug insurance plans must satisfy the criteria throughout the fiscal year to qualify for contributions.
- Reductions or withholdings of contributions may be imposed in the fiscal year of the default or the following fiscal year.
- Orders made by the Governor in Council to reduce or withhold contributions must not come into force earlier than 30 days after notice is sent to the province.
- The Minister must make an annual report by December 31 following the end of each fiscal year.
- The Minister must cause the annual report to be laid before Parliament on any of the first 15 days on which that House is sitting after the report is completed.
- Provinces may receive cash contributions from the federal government for their drug insurance plans.
- Cash contributions to provinces may be reduced or withheld if their drug insurance plans do not meet the criteria or conditions set out in the Act.
- The potential establishment of a drug agency could involve costs related to its operations, assessment, and negotiation functions.
- The Act focuses on cash contributions, not the imposition of new taxes or direct financial obligations on individuals.
- If a provincial drug insurance plan is found not to satisfy the criteria, or if a province fails to provide required information, the Minister may refer the matter to the Governor in Council.
- The Governor in Council may, by order, reduce or withhold cash contributions to a province.
- Reductions or withholdings may be imposed in the fiscal year of the default or the following fiscal year.
- Reductions or withholdings must be reimposed for succeeding fiscal years if the default continues.
- The specific details of "prescribed information" and the "times and manner" for its provision to the Minister are to be determined by regulations (Section 12 and 18(b)).
- The definition of "insured drug" includes supplies prescribed by regulations, which are not yet detailed in the bill text (Section 2 and 18(a)).
- The specific amounts of reduction or the exact determination of what constitutes an appropriate reduction for a default are decided by the Governor in Council, based on the gravity of the default (Section 14(1)(a)).
- The process for the Governor in Council's decision is triggered by the Minister's opinion, but the bill does not specify the exact procedure for the Governor in Council's deliberation beyond the referral.
- The effectiveness and financial implications of the potential drug agency (Section 17) are not detailed in the bill text.
- The bill does not specify when it will come into force; this will likely be through a proclamation or a future order.
This bill enacts a new Act, the Canada Pharmacare Act, which will set out the framework for federal financial contributions to provincial drug insurance plans.
Source: SUMMARY
The bill establishes the conditions and criteria for provincial drug insurance plans to receive cash contributions from the federal government under this new Act.
Source: SUMMARY
The Act defines key terms such as 'cash contribution,' 'drug insurance plan,' 'health care practitioner,' 'insured drug,' 'insured person,' 'Minister,' and 'resident.'
Source: 2
The Act declares the policy of the Government of Canada to facilitate access to prescription drugs without financial barriers.
Source: 3
The Act sets out the purpose of establishing criteria and conditions for cash contributions to public drug insurance plans.
Source: 4
The Act outlines that cash contributions may be made to each province for each fiscal year.
Source: 5
The Act details the five criteria (public administration, comprehensiveness, universality, portability, accessibility) that provincial drug insurance plans must meet to qualify for cash contributions.
Source: 6
The Act specifies how each of the five criteria (sections 7 to 11) is to be met by provincial drug insurance plans.
Source: 7 to 11
The Act requires provincial governments to provide prescribed information to the Minister of Health to qualify for cash contributions.
Source: 12
The Act establishes a process for the Minister of Health to refer to the Governor in Council if a provincial drug insurance plan does not meet the criteria or if a province fails to provide required information.
Source: 13
The Act allows the Governor in Council to reduce or withhold cash contributions to a province if its drug insurance plan does not meet the criteria or conditions.
Source: 14
The Act requires the Minister to reimpose reductions or withholdings for succeeding fiscal years if a province continues to be in default.
Source: 15
The Act permits the Minister, with the approval of the Governor in Council, to enter into arrangements with provincial governments to establish an independent drug agency.
Source: 17
The Act grants the Governor in Council the authority to make regulations for the administration of the Act, including prescribing insured drugs and required information.
Source: 18
The Act requires the Minister to report annually to Parliament on the administration and operation of the Act.
Source: 19
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
Official textParliamentary Process
We don't have a plain-language summary for First reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Second reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Third reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for First reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
Bill C-213, An Act to enact the Canada Pharmacare Act, was introduced and received first reading in the House of Commons on February 24, 2020.
On February 24, 2020, in the House of Commons, Bill C-213, An Act to enact the Canada Pharmacare Act, was introduced and received first reading. This event marked the initial formal step in the legislative process for this bill.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Second reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Consideration in committee yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Report stage yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Third reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
Debate and sitting links point to official parliamentary sources when LEGISinfo publishes them. Any plain-language discussion summaries should be generated from those official texts and reviewed before public display.
Vote Summary
This bill is still active. We only show vote counts after the legislature publishes a recorded division.
No published representative vote breakdown
This bill is still moving through the process. When a recorded division is published, representative positions can be listed here.
Official sources
Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.
How this data is sourced