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Canada’s unions are proud that we’ve negotiated health insurance coverage for many of our members. But we believe anyone with a health card should have coverage for the medicines they need.

That’s why this Labour Day, we are launching a campaign to win a universal prescription drug plan for all Canadians, regardless of their income, age, or where they work or live.

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A national pharmacare plan is badly needed and long overdue. Today, 3.5 million Canadians can’t afford to fill their prescriptions. A 2015 Angus Reid poll found that 21 percent of respondents in Alberta said they or someone else in their household hadn’t taken medication as prescribed because they couldn’t afford to.

Some are chronically ill and worry about how they’ll pay for the medication they need now and for years to come. Some are students who will lose coverage through their parents as soon as they graduate. Many, stuck in part-time, low-wage jobs, worry they’ll never find a job that provides health benefits.