TPP poses a threat to health care

The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) released a report that examines the effects of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) on the Canadian public health care system.

The TPP is an agreement that would create a free-trade zone among 12 nations. It would be the largest free trade agreement to date.

According to the report, TPP investor protections would make it more difficult and costly for Canadian governments to establish new public health programs, including pharmacare, which is on the agenda of ongoing federal-provincial health talks.

The overarching impacts of the proposed treaty would be to weaken the Canadian public health care system, undermine health regulation, and obstruct efforts to renew and expand public health care in the face of new challenges.

On January 25,2016 the federal government confirmed that it would sign the deal, though it still needs to be ratified by a majority vote in the House of Commons before being officially introduced.

Link to the study: Major Complications - The TPP and Canadian Health Care

Link to study outlining health care implications: Involuntary Medication: The Possible Effects of the Trans-Pacific Partnership on the Cost and Regulation of Medicine in Canada.