As part of their support and confidence agreement, the New Democrats and Liberals have agreed a new deadline of March 1 by which the government must submit a pharmacare bill to the House of Commons.
In keeping with that agreement, aimed at winning NDP support in key votes, the minority Liberals had promised to pass legislation by the end of the year that would lay the groundwork for a future drug insurance program.
However, so far the parties have failed to reach a consensus on exactly what this framework should look like, stalling negotiations.
The New Democrats claim they have insisted on a universal, unified program, while the Liberals have repeatedly stressed the need for responsible fiscal policy.
NDP health critic Don Davies said in a statement he knows many people aren't taking the medications they need because they can't afford them. He said the situation is getting worse as Canadians struggle with high costs of living.
Mr Davies argued that in this context it is more important than ever to have a universal national drug insurance scheme.
Health Minister Mark Holland has repeatedly spoken about the need for responsible fiscal policy.
Drug insurance will impact a large number of Canadians; That's why it's important that we get it right – and it takes time, Minister Holland's press secretary Chris Aoun said in a statement on Thursday.
The work of the House of Commons is due to end on Friday due to the holiday break and resume on January 29th.
Mr Davies said earlier this week that the parties were in almost daily discussions and that introducing a bill before the holidays was not out of the question. The new deadline allows these negotiations to be extended by several months.
Both sides said negotiations remained constructive.
More time, more waiting
Last month, the NDP said they would expect more from the deal if the Liberals didn't meet the year-end deadline set in the original deal.
“If it takes longer, we expect more results for Canadians,” argued NDP communications director Alana Cahill in a Nov. 27 press release.
The party has not said whether that threat remains or what else it plans to demand now that the deadline has been pushed back.