Advocates push for free contraception in next B.C. budget
A B.C. advocacy group says it's going to push the government to fulfil a promise to cover the cost of prescription contraception, and for it to be included in the next provincial budget.
The B.C. NDP promised to make prescription contraception free for all as part of its 2020 campaign, in what would be a first for a provincial government.
The promise was made again in Health Minister Adrian Dix's original 2020 mandate letter, and is repeated in a new mandate released this week.
Teale Phelps Bondaroff, chair of the Access B.C. campaign, says covering contraception was approved at an NDP convention in 2017, and the BC Liberals and Greens have also endorsed some form of the idea.
He says the question now is when the policy will be implemented, and Access B.C. will campaign for it to be covered in the next budget.
A study conducted in 2010 estimates that paying for prescription contraception would save the B.C. government about $95 million a year through reductions in abortions, prenatal visits and social supports.
Phelps Bondaroff said it was promising to see free prescription contraception in the minister's mandate letter again.
“[We're] gonna be pushing really hard in the intervening weeks and months before the budget comes out to ensure that this item is in this budget, as opposed to being kicked down the road.”
The organization is fundraising to put up billboards near Eby's and Dix's offices urging action.
“The cost has been identified as a major barrier preventing people from accessing prescription contraception in across Canada,” he said.
“And not only that, but what other research has indicated is that when cost is removed as a barrier, people reach for more reliable forms of contraception.”
In 2020, the NDP promoted the promise as being about fairness.
While condoms could be easily found for little or no cost, and vasectomies were covered under the medical services plan, prescription contraception was not covered, the party said at the time.
Free oral contraceptive pills were estimated to save someone as much as $10,000 over their lifetime, or $260 per year, while the lifetime savings for someone using an intrauterine device could be upwards of $3,000.
Phelps Bondaroff said it was important that the promise to cover costs also came with improvements to access.
“(If you're) in a small town in the middle of in the north, like 100 Mile House, just because contraception is free, doesn't mean you don't also struggle to access it for other reasons,” he said.
“So I think the government is on the right path, with maybe taking their time to make sure they settle those kinks out, but we need to get rolling on this.”
Dix's office did not immediately provide to a response to questions.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 8, 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.