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in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, M ay 3 ,2 01 8 |24 c o m m u n it y Affordable prescription drug coverage discussed at CLC event Graham Paine/Metroland Above, left: Marjorie Knight of the Ontario Health Coalition talks with fellow panel member Reverend Dr. Mervyn Russell during the Canadian Labour Council's Pharmacare Town Hall in Oakville. Above: The audience listens to a speaker at the Canadian Labour Congress's Pharmacare Town Hall. In its continuing efforts toward affordable drug coverage, the Canadian La­ bour Congress recently held a pharmacare town hall in Oakville. The April 12 event pro­ vided information on bringing affordable health coverage to seniors in the community. Currently, 3.5 million Canadians cannot afford to fill their prescriptions - some compensating by splitting their pills or skip­ ping days to make them last longer. In attendance was Has- san Yussuff, a Canadian la­ bour leader and president o f the Canadian Labour Congress. Last fall, the CLC launched a national cam­ paign calling for pharma- care that would cover all Canadians, regardless of their age, income or where they work or live. It's pan­ Canadian pharmacare town hall tour has so far visited about two dozen communities and gar­ nered nearly 50,000 peti­ tion signatures and almost 7,000 emails to members of Parliament. Yussuff said prescrip­ tion drugs are the fastest- growing payroll cost em­ ployers are facing. "They have no control over medication costs right now," he said. "Any em­ ployer w ill tell you that to have a national formulary . w ill certainly be huge for them." Oakville MP John Oli­ ver was also on hand. He's served as the president and chief executive officer of numerous hospitals in­ cluding Georgetown and District Memorial Hospital and Oakville-Trafalgar Memorial Hospital. Oliver spoke about the importance o f a pharma- care plan, noting that cre­ ating such a national pro­ gram was the main reason he entered federal politics. "For me it's simple: no Canadian should be denied access to necessary pre- scription medicines be­ cause they can't afford it," said Oliver, who was also president and CEO of Hal- ton Healthcare for more than 20 years before he en­ tered into politics. "I saw first-hand the immense need for pharmacare in Canada. We are the only country in the world with a national health-care sys­ tem that does not also have a pharmacare program, and that needs to change." According to a media re­ lease issued by Oliver's of­ fice, one in four Canadians cannot afford to fill or fin- • See UNITED, page 37 OSC YOUTH SUMMER HOUSE LEAGUE SOCCER TO REGISTER, OR FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT: WWW.OAKVILLESOCCER.CA OR CALL 905-849-4436 http://WWW.OAKVILLESOCCER.CA