"A national pharmacare program would be a very beneficial initiative for Canadians," said Mr. Grimes. "Now that all premiers and territorial leaders have agreed to support this program, efforts must shift towards convincing the federal government that this initiative is needed. While the premiers have given their unanimous support, I am concerned that the federal health minister has already stated that there may not be enough money to fund such a program.

"Premier Williams should begin lobbying our federal politicians to support this proposal. At past First Minister’s conferences, there has been unanimous support for changing things such as the equalization formula. Unfortunately, the federal government did not support the provinces and territories request and rejected the proposal. We cannot allow this initiative to suffer the same fate. This province needs a firm commitment that Ottawa is willing to fund a pharmacare proposal before raising the hopes of those who would most benefit from such a program.

"I encourage Premier Williams and his colleagues across the country to work together to bring forward a solid proposal to the Prime Minister at their meeting in the near future. Our caucus supports this proposal and we will help wherever we can to further its introduction. However, much work still needs to be completed to ensure that the federal government will implement such a beneficial program."